HENRY    MORGENTHAU 


ALL  IN  A  LIFE -TIME 


BY 
HENRY  MORGENTHAU 

IN     COLLABORATION     WITH 

FRENCH  STROTHER 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

FROM 
PHOTOGRAPHS 


GARDEN  CITY  NEW  YORK 

DOUBLEDAY,  PAGE  &  COMPANY 
1922 


COPYRIGHT,  1921,  1922,  BY 
DOUBLEDAY,  PAGE  &  COMPANY 

ALL    RIGHTS   RESERVED,    INCLUDING    THAT    OF    TRANSLATION 
INTO  FOREIGN  LANGUAGES,  INCLUDING  THE  SCANDINAVIAN 

PRINTED  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 

AT 
THE  COUNTRY  LIFE  PRESS,  GARDEN  CITY,  N.  Y. 


TO 

MY  DEVOTED    COMPANION 

MY    WIFE 

WHO  ORIGINATED  SOME, 
AND  STIMULATED  ALL, 
OP  MY  BEST  ENDEAVOURS 


504 6GV 


CONTENTS 


I.    NEW  WORLDS  FOR  OLD 
II.    SCHOOL  DAYS 


III. 
IV. 

V. 

VI. 

VII. 

VIII. 

IX. 

X. 

XI. 

XII. 


APPRENTICED  TO  THE  LAW 18 

REAL  ESTATE 39 

FINANCE 63 

SOCIAL  SERVICE      .........  94 

EARLY  POLITICAL  EXPERIENCES  .     .     .     .     .  109 

MY  ENTRANCE  INTO  NATIONAL  POLITICS     .     .  128 

THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1912    .     ......  150 

THE  SOCIAL  SIDE  OF  CONSTANTINOPLE        .     .  174 

MY  TRIP  TO  THE  HOLY  LAND      ,     .     .     .     .  211 

THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1916    .      .     ...     .     .  234 

XIII.  MY  MEETINGS  WITH  JOFFRE,  HAIG,  CURRIE, 

AND  PERSHING 249 

XIV.  JOHN  PURROY  MITCHEL    .     ...     .     ,     .  278 
XV.    A  HECTIC  FORTNIGHT — AND  OTHERS      .     .     .  287 

XVI.    THE  INTERNATIONAL  RED  CROSS      ....  310 

XVII.    THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE       .     .  '  .     -     *    ..  322 

XVIII.    MY  MISSION  TO  POLAND  .     .     .     .     .     .......  348 

XIX.    ZIONISM  A  SURRENDER,  NOT  A  SOLUTION    .     .  385 

APPENDIX .     ,  -  .     .     .     .     .  407 

INDEX  441 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Henry  Morgenthau        .     .     .     .     .     .        Frontispiece 


FACIMU  PAQ» 


Mr.  Morgenthau  playfully  refers  to  this  picture  as 
the  Morgenthau  dynasty 54 

Mr.  Morgenthau  with  Theodore  Roosevelt,  Charles 
E.  Hughes,  Oscar  Straus,  and  other  distinguished 
citizens 118 

Mr.  Morgenthau  as  one  of  the  group  of  financiers, 
doctors,  and  sociologists  who  organized  the  inter 
national  association  of  Red  Cross  societies  .  .  266 

Ignace  Paderewski,  Premier  of  Poland,  and  her  rep 
resentative  at  Paris 358 

Joseph  Pilsudski,  Chief  of  State  of  Poland,  who  was 
not,  at  first,  in  sympathy  with  the  American 
Mission       ; 374 

Rabbi  Rubenstein,  a  leader  of  the  Jewish  com 
munity  at  Vilna 390 


ALL   IN   A   LIFE-TIME 


ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

CHAPTER  I 

NEW  WORLDS  FOR  OLD 

I  WAS  born  in  1856,  at  Mannheim,  in  the  Grand  Duchy 
of  Baden.     That  was  the  old  Germany,  very  differ 
ent  from  the  Prussianized  empire  with  which  America 
was  to  go  to  war  sixty  years  later,  and  very  different  again 
from  the  bustling  life  of  the  western  world  to  which  I  was 
to  be  introduced  so  soon  and  in  which  I  was  to  play  a  part 
unlike  anything  which  my  most  fanciful  dreams  ever  pic 
tured. 

Indeed,  those  were  days  of  idyllic  simplicity  in  South 
Germany  and  especially  in  that  little  city  on  the  Rhine. 
The  life  of  the  people  was  best  expressed  by  a  word  that 
was  forever  on  their  lips,  gemutlich,  that  almost  untrans 
latable  word  that  implies  contentment,  ease,  and  satisfac 
tion,  all  in  one.  It  was  a  time  of  peace  and  fruitful 
industry  and  quiet  enjoyment.  The  highest  pleasure  of 
the  children  was  netting  butterflies  in  the  sunny  fields; 
the  great  events  of  youth  were  the  song  festivals  and  pub 
lic  exhibitions  of  the  "Turners"  and  walking  excursions 
into  the  country;  the  recreation  of  the  elders  was  at  little 
tables  in  the  public  gardens,  where,  while  the  band  played 
good  music  and  the  youngsters  romped  from  chair  to 
chair,  the  women  plied  their  knitting  needles  over  endless 
cups  of  coffee,  and  the  men  smoked  their  pipes  and  sipped 
their  beer  and  talked  of  art  and  philosophy — of  every 
thing  in  the  world,  except  world  politics  and  world  war. 


2  ALt  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

,*S  >"{  }  <:  :  .,';  •'••  -  - 

To  iis  children  who  had  seen  no  larger  city,  but  had 
visited  many  small  villages  in  the  neighbourhood,  Mann 
heim  seemed  quite  an  important  town.  It  was  at  the 
point  where  the  Neckar  flows  into  the  Rhine,  and  as  this 
river  flowed  through  the  Odenwald,  it  constantly  brought 
big  loads  of  lumber  and  also  many  bushels  of  grain  to 
Mannheim,  which  had  become  a  distributing  centre  for 
various  cereals  and  lumber,  and  was  also  a  great  tobacco 
centre.  My  father  had  cigar  factories  at  Mannheim  and 
also  in  Lorsch  and  Heppenheim  and  sometimes  employed 
as  many  as  a  thousand  hands.  Nevertheless,  the  entire 
population  of  Mannheim  was  scarcely  21,000,  and  the 
thoughts  of  most  of  its  inhabitants  were  bent  on  the  sober 
concerns  of  their  every-day  struggles  and  on  raising  their 
large  families,  without  ambition  for  great  riches  or  hope  of 
higher  place.  None  but  the  nobles  dreamed  of  such  gran 
deur  as  a  carriage  and  pair ;  the  successful  tradesman  only 
occasionally  gratified  a  modest  love  of  display  or  travel  by 
hiring  a  barouche  for  a  drive  through  the  hop  fields  and 
tobacco  patches  surrounding  the  city  to  one  of  the  near-by 
villages.  Those  whose  mental  powers  were  of  a  superior 
order  exercised  them  in  a  keen  appreciation  of  poetry, 
music,  and  the  drama;  Schiller  and  Goethe  were  their 
demi-gods,  Mozart  and  Beethoven  their  companions  of 
the  spirit.  The  Grand  Duke's  fatherly  devotion  to  his 
subjects'  welfare  had  won  him  their  filial  affection;  with 
political  matters  they  concerned  themselves  almost  not 
at  all. 

My  childhood  recollections  reflect  the  quiet  colours  of 
this  atmosphere.  My  father  was  prosperous,  and  our 
home  was  blessed  by  the  comforts  and  little  elegancies 
that  his  means  made  possible;  it  shared  in  the  artistic 
interests  of  the  community  by  virtue  both  of  his  interest 
in  the  theatre  and  my  mother's  passion  for  the  best  in  lit 
erature  and  music.  I  was  the  ninth  of  eleven  living 


NEW  WORLDS  FOR  OLD  3 

children,  and  I  recall  the  visits  of  the  music  teachers  who 
gave  my  sisters  lessons  on  the  piano  and  taught  my  eldest 
brother  to  play  the  violin.  We  children  learned  by  heart 
the  poems  of  Goethe  and  Schiller  and  shared  the  pride  of 
all  Mannheimers  that  the  latter  poet  had  once  lived  in 
our  city  and  that  his  play,  "The  Robbers,"  was  first  pro 
duced  at  our  Stadt  Theatre. 

Those  who  like  to  reflect  upon  the  smallness  of  the 
world  will  find  it  amusing  to  read  that  among  the  various 
friends  of  my  family  were  quite  a  few  with  whom  we  are 
now  on  the  most  cordial  relations  in  New  York.  Our 
physician  was  Dr.  Gutherz,  one  of  whose  daughters  mar 
ried  my  neighbour,  Nathan  Straus.  Their  son  and  mine 
are  intimate  friends,  and,  in  turn,  their  sons,  Nathan  3d 
and  Henry  3d,  are  now  playmates  in  Central  Park. 

Among  such  associations  the  first  ten  years  of  my  life 
were  passed.  We  studied  hard,  but  we  played  hard,  too. 
Nor  were  our  muscles  forgotten:  we  were  given  regular 
exercises,  and  great  was  my  pride  when  I  passed  the 
"swimming  test"  one  summer's  day,  by  holding  my  own 
for  the  prescribed  half  hour  against  the  Rhine  current 
and  so  winning  the  right  to  wear  the  magic  letters  R.  S. — 
"Rhine- Swimmer" — on  my  bathing  suit.  Life  was  in 
deed  gemiitlich  in  the  Mannheim  of  that  period. 

It  was  not  long,  however,  before  the  faraway  world  of 
America  began  to  knock  at  our  quiet  door.  A  brother  of 
my  father  had  joined  the  gold  rush  to  the  Pacific  and 
settled  in  San  Francisco;  he  wrote  us  tales  of  the  wild, 
free  life  of  California,  its  adventuress  and  its  wealth. 
Strange  gifts  came  back  from  him — a  cane  for  the  Grand 
Duke,  its  head  a  piece  of  gold-bearing  quartz;  for  us 
children  queer  mementoes  of  an  existence  that  seemed  all 
romance.  From  time  to  time,  this  "Gold-Uncle,"  as  we 
called  him,  gave  American  friends  touring  Europe  letters 
of  introduction  to  my  father,  and  these  visitors  enhanced 


4  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

the  charm  of  the  United  States.  One  such  especially 
filled  our  minds  with  narratives  of  easily  won  riches;  Cap 
tain  Richardson,  a  bearded  Forty-niner,  whose  accounts 
of  the  land  of  opportunity  were  so  much  more  moving 
than  our  fairy  tales  as  to  affect  even  my  father's  mature 
fancy. 

For  my  father  heard  them  at  a  moment  when,  by  an  odd 
coincidence,  an  act  of  the  American  Congress  had  caused 
him  great  damage.  In  1862  a  tariff  had  been  enacted  by 
the  United  States  which  greatly  increased  the  duty  on 
cigars.  For  many  years  the  largest  part  of  his  produc 
tion  had  been  exported  to  the  United  States.  Father 
had  a  representative  in  New  York,  and  his  brother  in  San 
Francisco  attended  to  the  distribution  on  the  Pacific 
Coast — they  both  had  urged  him  to  rush  over  all  the  cigars 
he  could  and  land  them  before  the  law  should  go  into  ef 
fect.  Unfortunately,  the  slow  freighter  that  carried  the 
last  and  biggest  shipment  arrived  one  day  too  late.  Had 
she  docked  in  time,  my  life  might  have  been  spent  differ 
ently.  That  day's  delay  meant  the  difference  between 
profit  and  disaster  to  my  father;  the  cigars,  which,  when 
duty  free,  woujd  have  yielded  him  a  good  return,  were  a 
dead  loss  when  to  their  cost  was  added  the  burden  of  the 
new  tariff  charges.  These  changes  in  any  event  would 
have  compelled  him  to  seek  a  new  market,  as  they  closed 
America  forever  to  goods  of  the  cheap  grade  of  German 
tobacco.  That  might  have  been  arranged,  but  when  the 
necessity  to  seek  new  fields  was  coupled  with  the  crushing 
loss  sustained  upon  this  shipment,  his  finances  were  so 
weakened  that  he  realized  he  would  have  to  start  afresh 
and  on  a  smaller  scale. 

This  was  a  heavy  blow  to  the  pride  of  a  man  who  had 
achieved  a  great  business  success  and  was  a  leading  citi 
zen  in  his  community.  The  instinct  to  seek  another  field 
for  the  fresh  start  was  fortified  by  the  stories  of  oppor- 


NEW  WORLDS  FOR  OLD  5 

tunity  in  the  land  whose  laws  had  just  dealt  the  blow. 
He  resolved  to  emigrate  to  America. 

I  remember  vividly  the  excitement  in  our  household  that 
was  provoked  by  this  momentous  decision.  Whatever 
may  have  been  the  doubts  and  heartburnings  of  our 
parents,  to  us  children  all  was  a  joyous  vista.  We  were 
happy  at  the  thought  of  travelling  to  that  far  land  of 
golden  promise  and  strange  people;  we  had  visions  only 
of  adventure,  and  we  were  the  envy  of  our  playmates  who 
were  not  to  share  with  us  the  voyage  across  the  Atlantic 
Ocean  or  the  excitement  of  life  in  America. 

The  two  eldest  brothers  and  one  of  my  sisters  went 
ahead  of  us  and  established  a  home  in  Brooklyn.  They 
wrote  back  their  first  impressions  of  New  York;  its  great 
buildings  and  its  crowded  wharves;  its  masses  of  busy 
people  hastening  through  the  maze  of  streets  and  the 
novelty  (to  us)  of  horse  cars  pulled  through  the  streets  on 
railroad  tracks.  These  letters  gave  us  fresh  thrills  of 
emotion  and  new  material  for  our  active  fancies.  Then 
my  father  abandoned  his  now  unprofitable  business,  sold 
his  factories  and  home,  packed  our  household  goods  and 
furniture,  and  possessed  of  about  thirty  thousand  dollars 
in  cash — all  that  remained  of  his  fortune — led  his  wife  and 
remaining  eight  children  upon  the  expedition. 

I  well  remember  the  journey  down  the  Rhine  to 
Cologne,  where  we  visited  the  beautiful  cathedral  before 
we  took  the  train  to  Bremen;  the  solemn  interview  in  the 
latter  city  at  the  offices  of  the  North  German  Lloyd, 
where  the  last  formalities  were  disposed  of;  and  finally 
settling  in  our  cabins  of  the  slow  old  steamer  Hermann 
as  she  put  forth  on  her  way  across  the  wide  Atlantic. 

My  memories  of  the  eleven-day  voyage  itself  are  rather 
vague.  I  recall  playing  around  the  deck  with  the  other 
family  of  children  on  the  ship.  The  daughter  of  one  of 
those  little  playmates  is  now  conducting  a  private  school 


6  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

in  New  York  City  which  three  of  my  granddaughters 
attend.  I  remember,  too,  that  on  the  stormiest  day  of 
our  passage,  I  was  proud  of  being  the  only  child  well 
enough  to  eat  his  meals,  and  that  the  Captain  honoured 
me  with  a  seat  beside  him  at  his  table. 

Now,  the  newcomer  to  America,  arriving  at  New  York, 
stands  on  the  deck  of  a  swift  liner  and  is  welcomed  by  the 
Statue  of  Liberty  and  overwhelmed  by  the  vaulting  office- 
buildings  springing  high  into  the  blue.  I  shall  tell  later 
how  I  have  contributed  to  the  creation  of  some  of  them. 
But  on  that  June  day  of  my  arrival,  in  1866, 1  simply  felt 
that  one  of  the  momentous  hours  in  my  life  had  come, 
when  I  found  myself  stepping  ashore  into  a  vast  garden 
of  unlimited  opportunities. 


CHAPTER  II 

SCHOOL   DAYS 

MY  FAMILY  took  up  their  residence  at  92  Con 
gress  Street,  Brooklyn,  which  my  two  oldest 
brothers  and  one  of  my  sisters,  our  pioneers, 
had  prepared  for  us,  and  though  handicapped  as  we  were 
by  our  small  knowledge  of  English,  we  younger  children 
began  our  studies  at  the  Degraw  Street  Public  School  in 
the  September  following  our  arrival.  Eight  months  later, 
on  the  first  day  of  May,  1867,  we  moved  to  Manhattan. 

It  was  a  very  simple  New  York  to  which  we  came.  In 
domestic  economy,  portieres  were  unknown,  rugs  a  rarity; 
ingrain  carpets,  costing  about  sixty  cents  a  yard,  were  the 
usual  floor  coverings;  when  the  walls  were  papered,  it 
was  with  the  cheapest  material;  the  only  bathtubs  were  of 
zinc,  and  one  to  a  house  was  the  almost  universal  rule. 
Our  home  was  No.  1121  Second  Avenue,  corner  of  Fifty- 
ninth  Street — a  three-story,  high-stoop  brownstone  house, 
rows  of  which  were  then  being  erected.  It  still  stands 
there,  the  high  stoop  removed  from  it;  stores  are  in  the 
basements;  the  district  has  deteriorated  to  one  of  cheap 
tenements  and  small  retail  businesses.  But  in  those  days 
there  was  an  effort  to  make  Upper  Second  Avenue  one 
of  the  chief  residential  streets  of  the  city.  The  house 
holders  were  mostly  well-to-do  Germans — people  who  had 
prospered  on  the  Lower  East  Side  and  had  outgrown 
their  quarters  there.  The  monotony  of  the  thorough 
fare  was  relieved  only  by  the  old-fashioned  horse  car  that 
rumbled  by  every  four  or  five  minutes.  Like  the  letter 
carriers  of  that  period,  neither  the  drivers  nor  the  con- 

7 


8  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

ductors  wore  uniforms.  The  line  ended  at  Sixty-fourth 
Street  where  the  truck-gardens  began.  On  our  way  to 
Sunday  School,  at  Thirty-ninth  Street  near  Seventh 
Avenue,  we  would  make  a  short-cut  across  the  site  where 
the  first  Grand  Central  Station  was  being  erected. 

I  had  my  little  difficulties  in  school:  I  well  remember 
how  one  of  the  boys  told  me  that  he  deeply  sympathized 
with  me,  because  I  would  have  to  overcome  the  double 
handicap  of  being  both  a  Jew  and  a  German.  So  I 
greatly  rejoiced  when  I  saw  the  steady  disappearance  of 
the  prejudice  against  the  Germans  after  they  had  suc 
ceeded  in  winning  the  Franco-Prussian  War  in  1871. 

About  the  most  picturesque  and  artistic  parade  that 
had  ever  taken  place  in  New  York  was  arranged  by  all 
the  German  societies  and  their  sympathizers,  the  singing 
clubs  and  the  turn  vereins  participating.  Non-Germans 
lent  their  carriages.  Among  the  generous  people  was 
the  famous  Dr.  Helmbolt,  of  patent  medicine  fame.  He 
owned  a  rather  fantastic  vehicle,  which  was  drawn  by  five 
horses  decorated  with  white  cockades  and  which  he  lent 
for  the  occasion  to  an  uptown  club  of  which  my  brother 
was  the  secretary.  I  was  permitted  to  fill  in,  so  that  I  saw 
with  my  own  eyes  and  was  deeply  impressed  by  the  crowds 
that  lined  the  streets  and  vociferously  and  heartily,  for 
the  first  time,  gave  their  unstinted  approval  of  the 
Germans. 

We  children  did  not  lose  a  day  in  our  pursuit  of  educa 
tion;  for  on  the  very  day  of  our  removal  to  Manhattan,  I 
attended  Grammar  School  No.  18,  in  Fifty-first  Street 
near  Lexington  Avenue.  At  recess-time  we  boys  used  to 
play  "tag"  on  the  foundations  of  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral, 
the  construction  of  which  had  been  stopped  during  the 
Civil  War.  I  have  very  pleasant  recollections  of  my  early 
grammar  school  teachers,  and  especially  of  one  who  later 
was  for  years  Clerk  of  the  Board  of  Education,  the  effi- 


SCHOOL  DAYS  9 

cient  Lawrence  D.  Kiernan,  who,  while  at  School  18,  was 
elected  to  the  Assembly  as  a  candidate  of  the  "Young 
Democrats"  and  whose  talks  to  us  pupils  on  civic  duty 
seemed  like  great  orations  and  gave  me  my  first  impres 
sion  of  independence  in  politics. 

Nevertheless,  I  laboured  under  two  disadvantages — one 
was  my  English;  the  difference  in  structure  between  my 
native  and  my  adopted  language  gave  me  considerable 
trouble;  so  did  the  pronunciation  of  the  letters  w  and  d, 
but  my  greatest  difficulty  was  the  diphthong  th,  and  to 
overcome  it,  I  compiled  and  learned  lists  of  words  in  which 
it  occurred  and  for  weeks  devoted  some  time,  night  and 
morning,  to  repeating:  "Theophilus  Thistle,  the  great 
thistle-sifter,  sifted  one  sieve-full  of  unsifted  thistles 
through  the  thick  of  his  thumb."  However,  as  the  great 
est  stress  was  laid  on  proficiency  in  arithmetic,  and  as  I 
had  a  natural  aptitude  for  that  study,  my  proficiency 
there  balanced  these  deficiencies  and  took  me  into  the 
highest  class  at  the  age  of  eleven. 

It  was  a  general  belief  that  all  "Dutchmen"  were  cow 
ards,  and  on  the  playground  this  idea  was  acted  upon  with 
considerable  spirit.  I  was  made  the  target  of  many  a 
joke  that  I  took  in  good  part,  until  I  realized  that 
something  positive  was  required  of  me.  Then  when  a 
husky  lad  taunted  me  with  being  a  "square-headed  Dutch 
man,"  and  refused  my  demand  that  he  "take  it  back,"  my 
fighting  blood  was  roused,  and  I  administered  a  sound 
thrashing,  the  result  of  sheer,  unscientific  force.  Nothing 
evokes  the  admiration  of  the  gallant  Irish  so  much  as  a 
good  fight,  and  the  result  of  that  battle  was  the  liking  of 
my  comrades,  and  especially  one  of  the  leaders  among 
them,  John  F.  Carroll,  later  familiar  to  New  Yorkers  as 
a  leader  in  Tammany. 

About  this  time  I  made  up  my  mind  to  enter  City  Col 
lege  and,  to  prepare  for  that,  I  began  looking  about  for  a 


10  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

school  which  ranked  higher  than  No.  18.  There  were  a 
number  of  these,  foremost  among  which  were  the  Thir 
teenth  and  Twenty-third  Street  schools.  I  applied  at 
both,  but  they  were  full.  The  next  in  rank  was  No.  14,  in 
Twenty-seventh  Street  near  Third  Avenue,  where  they 
admitted  me  to  the  fourth  class.  I  gladly  accepted  this 
comparative  demotion,  so  as  to  utilize  advantageously  the 
two  years  remaining  before  I  reached  the  college-entrance 
age,  began  my  studies  there  in  March  of  '68,  under  Miss 
Rosina  Hartman,  a  fine  old  spinster  and  a  good  teacher, 
and  finished  both  her  class  and  the  third  class  before  I  was 
twelve. 

I  was  hardly  settled  in  my  seat  in  the  second  class  when 
the  following  incident  took  place : 

Mr.  Abner  B.  Holley,  who  taught  the  first  class,  came 
into  the  room  and  complained  about  the  mathematical 
shortcomings  of  the  boys  just  promoted  into  his  care;  he 
explained  that  in  his  method  of  teaching  arithmetic,  it 
was  essential  to  have  someone  for  leader,  as  a  sort  of  spur 
for  the  pupils.  He  gave  us  fifteen  examples :  speed  and 
accuracy  were  to  be  the  tests;  and  the  boy  who  solved 
them  most  quickly  and  correctly  was  to  be  promoted.  I 
finished  first  and  handed  up  my  slate.  Holley  carefully 
compared  my  answers  with  those  on  his  slip  and,  before 
any  other  pupil  was  ready  to  submit  his  work,  rapped  for 
attention,  and  said : 

"As  these  answers  are  all  correct,  there  is  no  need  of 
any  other  boy  finishing.  Morgenthau  wins  the  promo 
tion." 

Being  too  young  to  graduate  in  '69,  I  remained  under 
Holley  until  June,  1870.  He  was  an  excellent  instructor, 
and  it  required  no  effort  on  my  part  to  keep  the  lead  in 
mathematics.  In  fact,  he  took  pride  in  displaying  my 
efficiency,  and  whenever  any  trustee,  or  other  visitor, 
came  to  school,  they  would  have  a  general  assembly  of  all 


SCHOOL  DAYS  11 

the  pupils  and  then  he  would  have  me  solve  promptly  some 
such  problem  in  mental  arithmetic  as  computing  the  in 
terest  on  $350  for  three  years,  six  months,  and  twelve  days 
at  6  per  cent.  Thus,  as  I  required  little  of  my  time  for 
what  was,  to  most  of  the  boys,  our  most  exacting  study, 
I  devoted  all  my  spare  time  to  improving  my  pronuncia 
tion  and  mastering  the  spelling  of  English  which  is  so  hard 
for  a  boy  not  born  to  the  language.  I  won  100  per  cent, 
perfect  marks  throughout  my  second  year  and  when,  with 
about  nine  hundred  other  boys,  I  took  my  City  College 
entrance-examination,  I  was  well  up  among  the  three 
hundred  selected  for  admission. 

I  always  look  back  with  pleasure  on  those  years  in  Pub 
lic  School  No.  14.  Iron  stairways,  modern  desks,  and 
electric  lights  have  been  installed  since  my  day;  the  Irish 
and  German  pupils  have  passed,  the  Italian  tide  is  ebbing; 
on  the  student  list  Russian,  Ukrainian,  Greek,  and  Ar 
menian  names  now  predominate — there  is  sometimes  even 
a  Chinese  name  to  be  found.  At  exercises  there,  attended 
by  three  of  my  classmates  and  by  Dr.  John  H.  Finley, 
New  York's  Commissioner  of  Education,  I  celebrated,  in 
1920,  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  my  graduation;  I  took 
the  1,900  pupils  to  a  moving-picture  show,  and  commenced 
my  now  regular  custom  of  giving  four  watches  twice  a 
year  to  members  of  the  graduating  class;  but  as  I  then 
reviewed  the  past  and  looked  at  the  present,  I  felt  that  the 
old  spirit  had  been  well  preserved  and  that,  whatever  the 
nationality  of  the  children  who  enter  the  old  school,  they 
all  leave  it  American  citizens. 

When  I  left  there,  I  had  my  eyes  longingly  fixed  upon 
the  City  College,  but  the  law  was  then  already  my  ulti 
mate  aim  and  wages  were  essential,  so  I  spent  my 
" vacation "  as  errand  boy  and  general-utility  lad  in  the 
law  offices  of  Ferdinand  Kurzman,  at  $4.00  a  week.  In 
those  days  little  was  known  of  "big  business";  there  were 


12  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

no  vast  corporations  requiring  continuous  legal  advice, 
and  so  the  lawyers  clustered  within  three  or  four  blocks  of 
the  court-house;  Kurzman's  quarters  were  at  306  Broad 
way,  at  the  corner  of  Duane  Street. 

My  early  duties  were  the  copying  and  serving  of  papers, 
but  the  time  soon  came  when,  young  though  I  was,  I 
was  sent  to  the  District  Court  to  answer  the  calendar  and, 
occasionally,  fight  for  an  adjournment.  Stenographers 
and  typewriters  being  practically  unknown,  the  lawyer 
would  dictate  and  his  clerks  transcribe  in  longhand,  make 
the  required  number  of  copies  with  pen  and  ink  and  then 
compare  the  results  and  correct  any  errors.  It  was  only 
when  more  than  twenty  copies  were  required  that  printing 
would  be  resorted  to. 

Such  was  my  existence  from  June  21st  until  Septem 
ber  16,  1870.  All  the  while,  I  tried  to  further  my  edu 
cation.  I  had  joined  the  Mercantile  Library  in  the  pre 
vious  February.  Within  a  short  time,  I  was  attending 
the  Cooper  Institute  classes  in  elocution  and  debating,  and 
later  secured  instruction  in  grammar  and  composition  at 
the  Evening  High  School  in  Thirteenth  Street.  I  tried 
to  do  as  much  good  reading  as  I  could,  and  I  find  that  my 
list  for  1871  ranges  from  Cooper's  "Spy,"  "David  Cop- 
perfield,"  and  "The  Vicar  of  Wakefield"  to  Hume's  "His 
tory  of  England,"  Mill's  "Logic,"  and  "The  Iliad." 

Of  my  life  at  City  College  I  wish  that  I  could  write 
more,  because  I  wish  I  had  been  privileged  to  graduate 
with  the  Class  of  1875.  There  were  286  of  us,  and  I 
remember  very  vividly  some  of  the  incidents  of  my  brief 
stay.  The  halo  of  military  distinction  that  encircled  the 
brow  of  the  president,  General  Alexander  S.  Webb,  is 
still  bright  for  me,  and  bright  that  day  when  the  great 
Christine  Nilsson  came  to  our  classroom  and  sang  for  us. 
Of  the  faculty,  Professor  Doremus  remains  especially 
vivid  in  my  memory;  electricity  for  illuminating  purposes 


SCHOOL  DAYS  18 

was  at  that  time  confined  to  powerful  arc-lights;  he  tried 
to  explain  to  us  the  possibility  of  some  inventor  some  day 
subdividing  the  power  in  one  of  those  lamps  so  that  it 
could  be  used  to  illuminate  private  houses.  Though 
"stumped"  in  anatomy  and  chemistry  through  my  un- 
familiarity  with  the  long  words  employed,  I  stood  well  on 
the  general  roll  and  was  No.  11.  My  college  career 
was  rudely  ended  on  March  20,  1871,  when  my  father 
withdrew  me  and  put  me  to  work.  His  difficulty  in  mas 
tering  the  English  language  and  American  commercial 
methods  were  handicaps  too  severe  for  him.  He  lost 
most  of  his  original  money,  and  his  unreinforced  efforts 
could  not  support  us  all. 

Early  in  our  occupancy  of  the  Second  Avenue  house, 
the  back  parlour  had  to  be  rented  as  a  doctor's  office,  and 
shortly  after  my  mother  decided  that  it  was  her  duty  to 
take  in  boarders.  I  cannot  speak  of  my  mother  as  she  was 
during  these  trials  without  the  deepest  emotion.  There  is 
nobody  to  whom  I  owe  so  much;  there  was  no  debt  which 
so  profoundly  affected  my  entire  career.  In  Mannheim 
her  position  had  always  been  one  of  comfort.  I  had  seen 
her  there  with  good  friends,  good  books,  good  dramas,  and 
good  music;  she  was  the  mistress  of  a  commodious  house, 
with  a  corps  of  competent  servants,  in  a  city  with  every 
custom  and  tradition  of  which  she  was  intimately  familiar ; 
respected  by  the  community,  the  mother  of  thirteen  chil 
dren,  she  was  calm,  philosophic,  considerate  of  every 
domestic  call  upon  her,  not  only  supervising  our  educa 
tion,  physical  and  mental,  but  also  finding  time  to  add 
continuously  to  her  own  broad  culture.  Now  a  complete 
change  had  come.  She  was  a  stranger  in  a  strange  land; 
most  of  her  friends  were  new;  the  city  of  her  husband's 
adoption  was  a  puzzle,  its  manners  foreign,  its  language 
long  almost  unknown;  there  was  small  time  for  amuse 
ment;  there  was,  on  the  contrary,  the  ever-constant  and 


14  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

ever-pressing  strain  of  helping,  by  her  own  endeavours,  to 
make  both  ends  meet. 

All  of  this  deeply  affected  my  young  and  impression 
able  mind.  I  feared  lest  my  mother,  who  was  my  idol, 
and  who  was  so  superior  in  accomplishments  and  knowl 
edge  to  the  people  that  boarded  with  us,  might,  in  the 
course  of  her  duties,  be  compelled  to  render  quasi-menial 
services.  Luckily,  two  things  prevented  this.  On  the 
one  hand,  her  wonderful  poise  and  tact  and  her  extraor 
dinarily  sweet  nature  won  so  prompt  a  recognition  that 
the  least  gentle  of  our  lodgers  instinctively  became  wor 
shippers  at  her  shrine.  On  the  other  hand,  my  sisters, 
themselves  bred  to  comfort,  rivalled  one  another  in  a 
friendly  struggle  to  shield  her  from  every  possible  annoy 
ance.  High-spirited  girls  as  they  were,  they  did  not  hesi 
tate  to  assume  everything  that  might  in  any  way  hurt  her 
sensibilities,  and  their  devotion  and  self-sacrifice  are  among 
my  tenderest  memories. 

Appreciating  how  things  were  at  home,  I  became 
quickly  reconciled  to  abandoning  textbook  education,  and 
instead,  to  plunging  into  the  rough  school  of  life. 

The  influence  of  the  beautiful  spirit  of  my  mother  had 
early  given  me  good  ideals  and  a  love  of  purity,  and  the 
ebb  of  the  family  fortunes  developed  an  irrepressible 
ambition  to  accomplish  four  things:  to  restore  my  mother 
to  the  comforts  to  which  she  had  been  accustomed;  to  save 
myself  from  an  old  age  of  financial  stress  such  as  my 
father's;  to  give  my  own  children  the  chances  in  life  that 
were  all  but  denied  to  me,  and  to  try  to  attain  a  standard 
of  thought  and  conduct  consonant  with  the  fine  concepts 
that  characterized  my  mother's  mind  and  lips. 

My  experiences  were  not  unique,  nor  were  my  high  re 
solves  exceptionally  heroic;  they  are  found  in  the  life 
history  of  most  men.  Nevertheless,  such  histories  are  not 
often  told  at  first  hand,  so  that  what  may  have  been  com- 


SCHOOL  DAYS  15 

monplace  in  the  happening  becomes  interesting  in  the 
narration.  Forsaking  the  chronological  order  of  my 
story,  let  me  look  backward  and  forward  in  an  attempt 
to  present  this  phase  of  my  mental  development. 

I  was  full  of  energy,  and  had  tremendous  hopes  as  to 
my  future  success,  which  gave  me  a  certain  assurance  that 
was  often  misconstrued  into  conceit,  but  which  was  really 
a  conviction  of  the  necessity  to  collect  religiously  a  mental, 
moral,  physical,  and  financial  reserve  guaranteeing  the 
realization  of  my  best  desires. 

Accordingly,  I  pursued  a  rather  carefully  ordered 
course.  At  the  age  of  fourteen  I  had  taken  very  seri 
ously  my  confirmation  in  the  Thirty-ninth  Street  Tem 
ple,  and  now  I  formed  the  habit  of  visiting  churches  of 
many  denominations  and  making  abstracts  of  the  sermons 
that  I  heard  delivered  by  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  Henry 
W.  Bellows,  Rabbi  Einhorn,  Richard  S.  Storrs,  T.  De 
Witt  Talmage,  and  Dr.  Alger,  and  many  others  of  the 
famous  pulpit-orators  who  enriched  the  intellectual  life 
of  New  York.  It  was  the  era  when  Emerson  led 
American  thought,  and  I  profited  by  passing  my  impres 
sionable  years  in  that  period  whose  daily  press  was  edited 
by  such  men  as  Horace  Greeley,  William  Cullen  Bryant, 
Charles  A.  Dana,  Henry  T.  Raymond,  and  Lawrence 
Godkin. 

There  lived  with  us  a  hunchbacked  Quaker  doctor, 
Samuel  S.  Whitall,  a  beautiful  character,  softened  instead 
of  embittered  by  his  affliction,  the  physician  at  the  coloured 
hospital,  who  gave  half  his  time  to  charitable  work 
among  the  poor.  I  frequently  opened  the  door  for  his 
patients  and  ran  his  errands,  and  we  became  friends.  I 
remember  his  long,  religious  talks,  and  how  deeply  I  was 
impressed  by  Penn's  "No  Cross,  No  Crown,"  a  copy  of 
which  he  gave  me.  Largely  because  of  it  I  composed 
twenty-four  rules  of  action,  tabulating  virtues  that  I 


1C  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

wished  to  acquire  and  vices  that  I  must  avoid.  I  even 
made  a  chart  of  these  maxims,  and  every  night  marked 
against  myself  whatever  breaches  of  them  I  had  been 
guilty  of.  Looking  over  this  record  for  February  and 
March  of  1872,  I  find  that  I  charged  myself  with  derelic 
tion  in  not  heeding  my  self-imposed  admonitions  against 
indulgence  in  sweets,  departures  from  strict  veracity,  too 
much  talking,  extravagance,  idleness,  and  vanity — a  heavy 
indictment ! 

The  fact  is  that  I  had  acquired  an  almost  monastic 
habit  of  mind  and  loved  the  conquest  of  my  impulses  much 
as  the  athlete  loves  the  subjection  of  his  muscles  to  the 
demands  of  his  will.  In  my  commonplace  book  for  1871 
I  find  transcribed  two  quotations  that  governed  me.  The 
one  is  from  Dr.  Hall's  "Happy  Old  Age"  and  runs: 

Stimulants  .  .  .  are  the  greatest  enemies  of  mankind;  there 
is  no  middle  ground  which  anyone  can  safely  tread,  only  that  of  total 
and  most  uncompromising  abstinence. 

The  other  is  from  a  sermon  of  Dr.  Channing  on  "Self- 
Denial." 

Young  man,  remember  that  the  only  test  of  goodness  is  moral 
strength,  self -decrying  energy  ...  Do  you  subject  to  your 
moral  and  religious  convictions  the  love  of  pleasure,  the  appetites,  the 
passions,  which  form  the  great  trials  of  youthful  virtue?  No  man 
who  has  made  any  observation  of  life  but  will  tell  you  how  often  he 
has  seen  the  promise  of  youth  blasted  .  .  .  honorable  feeling, 
kind  affection  overpowered  and  almost  extinguished  .  .  .  through 
a  tame  yielding  to  pleasure  and  the  passions. 

I  took  these  warnings  very  seriously. 

How  the  state  of  mind  engendered  by  these  forces 
affected  me  in  a  purely  material  way,  we  shall  soon  see. 
From  the  outset  of  my  business  career,  when  an  errand 
boy  in  Kurzman's  office,  I  found  myself  surrounded  by 


SCHOOL  DAYS  17 

employees,  not  perhaps  more  vicious  than  most,  but  cer 
tainly  sharing  the  vices  of  the  majority.  They  gave,  at 
best,  only  what  they  were  paid  for,  and  not  an  ounce  of 
energy  or  a  minute  of  time  beyond. 

I  shrank  from  the  possibility  of  becoming  a  mere  clock 
clerk  and  gave  all  of  my  best  self  and  held  back  nothing. 
I  made  mistakes,  I  had  my  failures  from  the  standard 
that  I  had  set ;  but  my  purpose  held  fast  and  I  cheerfully 
pursued  the  rugged  uphill  road  to  success. 


CHAPTER  III 

APPRENTICED   TO   THE   LAW 

WHEN  I  left  City  College,  my  father  wanted  me 
to  become  a  civil  engineer,  but  a  brief  experi 
ence  in  an  engineer's  office  convinced  me  that  I 
lacked  the  requisite  mathematical  foundation,  so  I  gave 
it  up  and  accepted  a  position  as  assistant  bookkeeper  and 
errand  boy  at  $6  a  week  in  the  uptown  branch  of  the 
Phoenix  Fire  Insurance  Company. 

In  September,  1871,  I  improved  myself  by  securing  a 
$10  position  with  Bloomingdale  &  Company,  who  were 
then  in  the  wholesale  "corset  and  fancy-goods"  business  on 
Grand  Street  near  Broadway.  I  kept  the  books  and  also 
helped  to  pack  hoop-skirts,  bustles,  and  corsets  until  the 
firm's  financial  difficulties  gave  me  an  excuse  for  turning 
my  ambition  again  to  the  law.  I  returned  to  Kurzman's 
office,  January  16,  1872. 

Though  Kurzman's  perspicacity  could  pierce  directly 
through  the  intricacies  of  any  tangled  case,  his  accounts 
were  shamefully  neglected.  His  check  book  was  his  only 
book  of  entry — he  trusted  his  memory  to  keep  track  of 
what  his  clients  owed  him — so  I  voluntarily  and  without 
informing  him  arranged  a  regular  system  of  accounts, 
and  shall  never  forget  his  surprise  and  appreciation 
when,  at  the  end  of  the  year,  I  showed  him  what  he 
had  earned  and  the  sources  and  also  the  amounts  still 
due  him. 

The  most  important  branch  of  his  practice  was  the 
searching  of  titles,  and  this  gave  me  my  early  taste  for 
real  estate.  This  department  was  under  the  able  manage- 

18 


APPRENTICED  TO  THE  LAW  19 

ment  of  Alfred  Mclntire,  who  graciously  initiated  me 
into  the  intricacies  of  his  work. 

We  were  then  in  the  midst  of  a  real-estate  boom  mostly 
participated  in  by  the  recently  created  middle  class. 
Houses  were  dealt  in  almost  as  freely  as  merchandise,  the 
only  hindrance  being  the  delay  occasioned  by  the  searching 
of  titles,  which  was  still  confined  to  the  lawyers,  as  there 
were  no  title  insurance  companies.  Contracts  would 
frequently  be  assigned  twice  and  sometimes  thrice,  before 
the  great  event,  "the  closing  of  the  title."  Then  the 
various  couples  involved — the  seller,  the  assignors  of  the 
contract,  and  the  final  purchaser — would  all  troop  into  our 
offices.  The  women  invariably  were  the  bankers  and 
pulled  out  their  roll  of  bills  and  sometimes  Savings  Bank 
Books,  rarely  checks,  to  consummate  the  transaction. 
The  moneys  invested  were  seldom  taken  out  of  the  busi 
ness,  but  were  mostly  the  savings  of  the  thrifty  house 
wives.  When  everything  was  completed,  all  adjourned 
to  a  neighbouring  wine  cellar,  to  be  treated  to  a  bottle  or 
two  of  Rhine  wine  by  the  vendor,  and  frequently  I  had  to 
go  along  to  represent  Kurzman,  and  as  the  youngest  listen 
attentively  to  the  real  estate  stories  told  with  all  kinds  of 
embellishments. 

Kurzman  at  that  time  took  as  his  partner  George  H. 
Yeaman,  who  had  been  a  member  of  Congress  from  Ken 
tucky  and,  more  recently,  American  Minister  to  Denmark, 
and  subsequently  became  a  lecturer  at  the  Columbia  Law 
School.  His  native  Southern  chivalry  had  been  polished 
by  his  experience  at  the  Danish  court;  he  was  a  man  of 
splendid  education  and  wide  culture.  I  was  fortunate  in 
being  chosen  to  take  his  dictation.  I  was  amused  in  1916 
when,  as  Ambassador,  I  visited  Dr.  Maurice  Francis 
Egan  at  our  Legation  in  Copenhagen,  and  looked  through 
the  records  made  by  Yeaman  in  1865  while  he  was  the 
head  of  that  Legation. 


20  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

My  private  life  I  continued  to  order  along  the  lines  that 
I  had  laid  down  for  myself.  I  would  get  up  at  6  A.  M. 
and  go  to  Central  Park.  Then  if  I  had  not  exercised  at 
home,  I  would  take  a  long  walk;  otherwise  I  would  sit 
under  the  trees  and  read.  The  hour  that  the  horse  car 
consumed  in  wending  its  way  from  the  Park  to  Duane 
Street  I  would  devote  to  my  books,  and  I  was  so  thrifty 
that  I  did  not  even  buy  a  newspaper.  I  kept  myself  so 
busy  that  I  did  not  even  see  one,  until,  going  home  for  the 
night,  I  unfolded  and  read  such  as  had  been  left  in  Kurz- 
man's  office  during  the  day. 

Thrift  was,  indeed,  a  necessary  virtue.  I  had  left  com 
merce  for  the  law  at  something  of  a  sacrifice:  in  1872,  my 
accounts,  which  I  kept  scrupulously  all  this  while,  bear 
evidence  of  how  careful  I  had  to  be  of  my  scanty  income. 
"Carfare,  10  cts. ;  Dinner,  15  cts. ;  Sundries,  2  cts."  That 
is  a  typical  day's  expenditure. 

No  man  that  lived  through  the  Panic  of  '73  can  ever 
forget  it  and  on  me  it  made  an  indelible  impression.  At 
the  root  of  the  trouble  was  railway  over-expansion.  The 
successful  completion  of  the  Union  Pacific  in  1869  caused 
the  projection  of  many  other  roads.  Jay  Cooke  launched 
the  Northern  Pacific;  Fisk  and  Hatch,  the  Chesapeake  & 
Ohio;  Kenyon,  Cox  &  Co.,  the  Canadian  Southern.  The 
eminent  New  York  banking  concerns  floated  the  bonds;  the 
large  rate  of  interest  promised — N.  P.  paid  8%  per  cent. 
— attracted  buyers,  largely  clergymen,  school-teachers  and 
small  professional  men — and  prices  advanced  until  opti 
mism  bordered  on  hysteria.  Issue  followed  issue.  Then, 
in  the  May  of  '73,  a  panic  on  the  Vienna  Bourse  stopped 
European  consumption  and  threw  back  on  the  New  York 
financiers  obligations  that  strained  their  credit.  Early  in 
September,  after  one  unfortunate  bank-statement  fol 
lowed  on  the  heels  of  another,  call-money  was  at  7l/6  and 
commercial  paper  at  from  nine  to  twelve  per  cent. 


APPRENTICED  TO  THE  LAW  21 

Minor  failures  were  numerous  in  the  week  of  Septem 
ber  8th.  Kenyon,  Cox  &  Co.  failed  on  the  13th;  the 
Eclectic  Life  Insurance  Co.  on  the  17th.  On  the  18th, 
the  big  bolt  fell;  word  ran  round  that  Jay  Cooke  &  Co.,  in 
many  respects  the  greatest  house  of  its  time,  was  totter 
ing.  This  news  greatly  startled  Kurzman,  who  had  been 
a  persistent  purchaser  of  Northern  Pacific  bonds.  "On 
the  floor  of  the  Exchange,"  said  the  Times,  "the  brokers 
surged  out,  tumbling  pell-mell  over  each  other  in  the  gen 
eral  confusion,  and  reached  their  offices  in  race-horse 
time."  Those  were  not  the  days  of  telephones;  when  the 
panic-stricken  men  had  got  their  orders,  they  ran  back 
to  the  floor,  on  which  absolute  confusion  reigned.  Men 
shouted  themselves  hoarse,  contradicted  themselves  and 
collapsed.  A  moment  was  enough  to  ruin  many  a  dealer. 
Any  one  with  money  to  lend  was  beset  by  a  mob  of  luna 
tics.  Almost  immediately  the  effect  was  felt  all  the  way 
down  thei  financial  line;  smaller  companies  went  the  way 
of  the  big  ones  and  many  of  the  larger  were  tottering 
after  the  smaller. 

That  week  I  took  as  usual  all  that  I  could  spare  from 
my  scant  salary  and  went,  according  to  my  custom,  to  the 
German  Uptown  Savings  Bank  to  deposit  it  along  with 
the  little  fund  that  I  was  laboriously  setting  aside.  There 
was  a  big  line  of  confident  depositors  bent  on  similar  er 
rands;  many  were  ahead  of  me,  and  waiting  my  turn,  as 
I  looked  into  the  teller's  cage,  I  saw  the  president  of  the 
bank  in  a  very  earnest  conversation  with  three  other  men. 
Of  course,  I  could  not  hear  what  they  were  saying,  but  I 
thought  the  president  seemed  worried,  and  that  those  with 
him  also  showed  uneasiness. 

I  turned  my  head  to  find  that  the  shuffling  line  had 
brought  me  before  the  window  that  was  my  goal.  The 
clerk  behind  it  was  both  a  receiving  and  a  paying  teller. 
On  a  sudden  impulse  I  thrust  my  dollar  bill  that  I  in- 


22  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

tended  to  deposit  back  into  my  pocket,  presented  my  pass 
book,  and  told  the  clerk  that  I  wanted  to  withdraw  the 
entire  $80  that  was  to  my  credit. 

Three  days  later  that  bank  closed.  The  other  depos 
itors  ultimately  got  about  fifty  cents  on  the  dollar. 

The  real  estate  market  had  been  as  badly  inflated  as  the 
stock  market,  and  foreclosures  were  the  order  of  the  day. 
Properties  like  the  block  bounded  by  Park  and  Madison 
Avenue  and  Seventy-first  and  Seventy- second  streets 
went  under  the  hammer.  John  D.  Crimmins  and  his 
father  had  paid  $475,000  to  James  Lenox,  who  repur 
chased  it  for  $374,150  at  the  foreclosure  sale  under  the 
mortgage.  Equities  disappeared  like  the  snow  in  spring 
time.  Where  we  had  once  been  almost  rushed  to  death 
with  the  drawing  of  mortgages  to  consummate  the  many 
sales,  we  were  now  hard  pressed  to  keep  pace  with  fore 
closure  proceedings. 

I  took  charge  of  this  work  for  Kurzman,  who  gave  me 
10  per  cent,  of  the  net  fees ;  the  commission  was  most  ac 
ceptable,  the  experience  invaluable,  but  a  more  depressing 
task  it  has  never  been  my  lot  to  perform.  The  proud  and 
prosperous  men  that  had  been  our  best  clients  from  1871 
to  1873  now  returned  to  shed  their  wealth  and,  with  it, 
their  self-reliance.  One  who  had  owned  eight  or  ten 
houses  was  reduced  to  borrowing  $100  from  Kurzman 
for  temporary  relief.  I  made  up  my  mind  never  to 
"plunge";  if  I  had  not  lived  through  the  Panic  of  '73, 
I  should  to-day  be  either  many  times  richer  than  I  am  or, 
what  is  far  more  likely,  penniless. 

The  bad  light  in  the  Kurzman  offices  had  injured  my 
eyes,  and,  just  after  the  panic  had  subsided,  my  doctor 
ordered  a  sea  trip.  I  sailed  on  the  barque  Dora  for  Ham 
burg — thirty  days  for  $35,  and  no  extra  charge  for  the 
excitement  that  was  thrown  in. 

We  were  undermanned  and  underprovisioned.     The 


APPRENTICED  TO  THE  LAW  23 

first  mate  was  ill  when  we  set  out  from  Jersey  Flats;  be 
cause  of  that,  two  of  the  crew  had  deserted,  leaving  only 
eight  men  aboard.  There  was  no  doctor  among  these, 
and  the  Captain  and  I  read  a  thumbed  work  on  medicine 
that  adorned  his  cabin,  studied  the  remedies  that  it  sug 
gested,  and  nearly  emptied  the  medicine  chest  in  trying  to 
cure  the  poor  fellow,  who  lost  sixty  pounds  under  our 
ministrations  and,  at  the  voyage's  end,  went  home  with 
his  disease  still  undiagnosed. 

Meanwhile,  the  crew  were  dissatisfied  on  account  of  the 
extra  work  forced  on  them  by  the  inactivity  of  the  mate 
and  the  absence  of  the  deserters,  and  also  with  their  rations. 
They  won  the  second  mate  to  their  side,  and,  on  a  day  of 
storm  when  they  declared  themselves  too  few  to  handle 
the  sails,  he  led  something  like  an  old-fashioned  mutiny. 
They  crowded  toward  the  Captain. 

"Run  and  get  a  pistol!"  he  whispered  to  me. 

I  obeyed.  As  I  returned  and  slipped  him  the  weapon, 
the  mutineers  were  just  coming  to  a  pause  before  him. 

The  Captain  levelled  his  pistol.  He  made  short  work 
of  the  difficulty.  He  offered  them  cold  lead  or  hot  grog. 
The  crew,  like  sensible  men,  chose  the  latter,  but  they  con 
tinued  to  grumble  at  the  food — which  was  mostly  hard 
tack  and  cornmeal — until,  on  a  day  when  we  were  be 
calmed  in  the  North  Sea,  we  caught  several  dolphins 
weighing  over  150  pounds.  I  have  rarely  eaten  anything 
better  than  that  dolphin  steak. 

This  is  not  to  be  a  record  of  travel,  but  one  phase  of 
that  early  journey  of  mine  is  well  worthy  of  notice:  I 
saw  Germany  just  as  she  was  entering  on  the  imperial 
istic  career  that  ended  so  abruptly  when  her  crestfallen 
representatives  signed  the  Treaty  of  Versailles.  The 
Franco-Prussian  War  had  just  ended  in  triumph;  the 
German  Empire  had  been  reborn.  Its  people  were  not 
the  easygoing  people  that  I  remembered  from  my  earlier 


24  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

boyhood  in  Mannheim.  Everywhere  there  were  the  be 
ginnings  of  commercial  and  military  activity;  everywhere 
there  was  preached  the  doctrine  of  world  power. 

I  passed  several  weeks  at  Kiel;  I  lived  well  on  less  than 
a  dollar  a  day.  I  had  some  difficulty  in  becoming  friendly 
with  a  pensioned  wounded  army  captain  because  he  held 
me  personally  responsible  that  American  ammunition  had 
been  sold  to  the  French.  The  same  complaint  was  made 
to  me  by  the  German  Ambassador,  Baron  Wangenheim, 
in  Constantinople,  in  1915.  I  saw  the  launching  of  the 
new  Empire's  first  battleship,  the  very  beginning  of  that 
colossal  preparation  for  war  which,  at  the  cost  of  so  many 
millions  in  lives  and  money,  was  finally  to  bear  its  bloody 
fruit  in  1914.  A  wrinkled  old  man  wearing  a  small  mili 
tary  cap  made  the  speech  on  that  occasion.  It  was  the 
famous  General  von  Moltke.  I  listened  intently  to  what  he 
said.  His  words  reached  everyone  in  that  crowd,  which 
was  attentively  listening  to  the  great  hero  of  the  Franco- 
Prussian  War;  and  when  I  looked  into  his  piercing  eyes,  I 
found  that  they  seemed  to  penetrate  right  through  me, 
and  I  could  understand  the  frequently  made  statement 
that  officers  used  to  quiver  in  his  presence,  and  that  his 
questions,  accompanied  by  one  of  his  fixed  looks,  always 
elicited  the  exact  truth. 

On  my  return  to  America,  I  entered  the  law  office  of 
Chauncey  Shaffer,  who  was  a  leader  of  the  New  York  Bar 
and  had  a  nation-wide  reputation.  He  had  been  retained 
in  many  important  cases,  and  some  romantic.  His  offices 
were  first  on  the  third  floor  in  an  old-fashioned  private 
house  at  No.  7  Murray  Street,  and  later,  he  moved  into 
the  Bennett  Building,  one  of  the  city's  first  modern  office 
buildings. 

In  our  new,  well-lighted  quarters,  we  had  some  interest 
ing  neighbours,  and  these,  along  with  many  another,  were 
constantly  dropping  in  on  Shaffer.  I  still  recall  with 


APPRENTICED  TO  THE  LAW  25 

pleasure  my  acquaintance  in  those  surroundings  with  Gil 
der  sleeve  and  Purroy,  with  Butzel  and  Bourke  Cockran. 

Henry  A.  Gildersleeve  had  been  born  on  a  farm  in 
Dutchess  County,  and  in  early  life  was  the  handiest  man 
with  his  fists  in  all  that  district.  In  the  Civil  War  he 
organized  a  company  and  was  elected  a  captain.  He  re 
turned  from  that  to  complete  his  education  and  become  a 
lawyer,  but  he  became  a  crack  shot,  too,  at  the  interna 
tional  rifle  matches;  and  when  he  first  visited  Shaffer's 
office,  it  was  as  an  Apollo  of  a  man  with  romance  in  every 
feature  of  his  face  and  every  particle  of  attire. 

He  was  offered  by  both  parties  the  nomination  as  Judge 
of  General  Sessions  and  came  to  consult  Shaffer  about  it. 
I  was  in  the  room  at  the  time. 

The  scene  is  still  vivid.  Shaffer  never  forgot  his 
Napoleonic  pose  when  there  was  anybody  present  to  ob 
serve  it,  and  now  he  moved  about  with  one  hand  under  his 
coat  tails  and  the  other  thrust  into  his  breast.  The  harder 
he  thought,  the  harder  he  chewed  his  tobacco  and  the  more 
frequent  were  his  expectorations.  Finally  he  stopped 
short  in  front  of  Gildersleeve,  who  had  been  waiting  pa 
tiently  for  this  queer  oracle  to  speak. 

"If  you  have  to  go  down  in  this  fight,"  Shaffer  said, 
"go  down  in  good  company:  take  the  Fusion  nomination." 

Gildersleeve  accepted  that  advice.  He  remained  on  the 
bench  until  he  was  seventy  years  of  age.  He  is  in  his 
eighties  now  and  as  keen  of  intellect  as  in  those  far-off 
days  when  he  used  to  visit  Shaffer.  He  is  now  one  of  my 
favourite  golf  companions. 

On  many  Saturdays  we  did  little  work;  the  coterie  met 
in  Shaffer's  office,  and  we  talked ;  it  would  be  nearer  to  the 
mark  to  say  that  one  of  us  talked  and  entertained  the 
others  by  his  endless  flow  of  good  stories  and  sparkling 
reminiscences.  He  was  a  student  under  Shaffer,  and  his 
name  was  Bourke  Cockran.  I  never  saw  him  poring 


26  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

over  Blackstone  or  Kent,  but  on  Saturday  when  freed 
from  his  duties  as  principal  of  the  Public  School  at  Tucka- 
hoe,  this  exuberant  young  instructor  would  either  practise 
his  future  orations  on  us  or  pour  out  his  flood  of  Cochran- 
isms  and  anecdotes.  Not  getting  my  name  at  the  first 
meeting,  he  dubbed  me  "Mortgagee"  and  still  calls  me 
so.  He  thrilled  us  with  the  account  of  his  early  struggles 
at  Dublin  University,  roused  our  enthusiasm  by  his  plans 
to  restore  oratory  to  the  New  York  Bar,  and  evoked  our 
applause  by  his  determination  to  Patrick  Henryize  the 
Assembly  at  Albany.  The  Democrats  promised  him  a 
nomination  to  the  Assembly,  but  withdrew  the  promise 
when  they  discovered  that  he  was  not  yet  twenty-one. 

It  was  while  at  Shaffer's  that  I  began  to  find  out  how 
human  great  men  really  are.  The  names  of  Benjamin 
F.  Butler — the  redoubtable  Butler  of  Massachusetts — 
and  Preston  Plumb  of  Kansas  used  to  move  me  to  awe. 
One  of  my  employer's  important  cases  involved  some 
grants  of  land  to  the  Atchison,  Topeka,  and  Santa  Fe 
Railroad  and  was  brought  by  John  Leisenring,  of  Penn 
sylvania,  whose  attorney-of-record,  Congressman-at- 
large  Charles  P.  Albright,  of  the  same  state,  had,  in  addi 
tion  to  Shaffer,  associated  with  him  in  the  affair,  Butler 
and  Plumb.  The  latter  used  to  dash  into  our  office  with 
out  a  necktie  and  then  chafe  at  the  former's  unpunctuality 
and  indifference  in  the  matter  of  keeping  appointments. 

"It's  all  very  well  for  Butler  to  behave  like  this  just 
now,"  he  would  say.  "Wait  a  few  more  years.  Then  he 
will  still  be  a  mere  Congressman,  while  I'll  be  a  United 
States  Senator!  We'll  see  who'll  kowtow  to  the  other 
then!" 

Although  Plumb  was  elected  to  the  Senate  not  long 
after  and  served  there  many  years,  I  did  not  hear  of  Ben 
Butler  doing  any  kowtowing. 

In  the  summer  of  1875  I  felt  that  obtaining  a  knowl- 


APPRENTICED  TO  THE  LAW  27 

edge  of  the  law  in  this  scrappy,  unsystematic  fashion  was 
unsatisfactory,  and  that,  therefore,  I  would  leave  Shaf 
fer's  employ,  attend  Columbia  Law  School  to  get  a  thor 
ough  grounding  of  the  law,  and  arrange  for  future  easy 
access  the  odd  bits  of  legal  knowledge  that  I  had  absorbed 
in  the  offices.  As  I  needed  an  income  to  enable  me  to  do 
this,  I  secured  a  position  as  night-school  teacher  at  $15  a 
week  in  the  school  on  Forty-second  Street  near  Third 
Avenue. 

At  that  time  Forty-third  Street  had  not  yet  been  cut 
through,  and  on  top  of  the  rocks  was  a  shanty-town  occu 
pied  by  squatters.  As  I  had  the  adult  class,  my  pupils 
were  from  eighteen  to  forty-five  years  old,  some  of  them 
denizens  of  the  rocks,  while  others  were  hardworking  car 
penters,  brakemen,  butchers,  factory  workers,  a  plumber's 
assistant,  a  coachman,  and  a  blacksmith. 

I  particularly  remember  the  latter  three,  because  the 
plumber's  assistant  came  to  the  school  to  inveigle  some  of 
the  other  boys  to  play  cards  with  him  in  one  of  the  rear 
seats,  and  to  amuse  himself  by  throwing  tobacco  quids  and 
beans  while  I,  with  my  back  turned  to  the  class,  would 
be  engaged  in  explaining  things  on  the  blackboard.  I 
was  nineteen  years  of  age,  husky,  weighing  180  pounds, 
and  unafraid  even  of  a  plumber's  boy.  As  my  weekly  sti 
pend  of  $15  was  my  sole  support  and  its  retention  de 
pended  upon  my  being  able  to  maintain  discipline  and 
keep  up  the  attendance,  I  was  not  going  to  permit  this 
loafer's  antics  to  defeat  me — and  one  evening  when  I 
caught  him  playing  cards,  I  forcibly  ejected  him  from  the 
classroom.  Thenceforth  my  tenure  of  office  was  assured 
and  continued  to  the  closing  day  exercises,  at  which  I  had 
the  pleasure  of  rewarding  the  coachman,  Morgan  O'Toole, 
with  a  prize  for  the  greatest  advancement  made  by  any 
pupil.  This  man  was  very  anxious  to  learn  fractions. 
During  the  first  three  weeks  of  the  session,  every  Friday 


28  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

evening  I  had  succeeded  in  teaching  them  to  him.  Every 
following  Monday  evening  his  mind  was  an  absolute  blank 
as  to  fractions,  and  the  fourth  week  I  asked  him  to  come 
to  my  house  both  Saturday  and  Sunday,  and  gave  him  pri 
vate  lessons.  His  joy  on  the  next  Monday  when  he  found 
he  had  retained  his  knowledge  is  still  a  vivid  memory  in 
my  mind. 

The  blacksmith,  a  man  named  Whitney,  had  been  a 
fellow  pupil  of  mine  in  Fifty-first  Street  School,  and  had 
been  one  of  the  best  penmen.  I  was  surprised  to  see  him 
come  to  reacquire  that  ability,  which  he  had  lost  through 
wielding  the  hammer  and  pulling  the  bellows. 

One  of  the  carpenters  wanted  to  learn  duodecimals. 
As  I  knew  nothing  about  them,  I  told  him  that  I  wanted 
him  to  brush  up  on  ordinary  fractions  for  two  days.  In 
the  meantime,  I  learned  duodecimals  and  then  taught 
him. 

It  was  really  a  great  experience  to  divide  impartially 
two  hours  every  evening  so  as  to  satisfy  the  twenty-five 
earnest  seekers  after  knowledge. 

I  deeply  sympathized  with  these  men  who,  wearied  from 
their  day's  labour,  preferred  to  forego  needed  rest  or 
amusement  and  devote  their  evenings  to  extricate  them 
selves  from  the  ignorance  in  which  they  had  been  com 
pelled,  probably  through  poverty  and  the  early  need  of 
self-support,  to  live  the  better  part  of  their  existence. 

It  spurred  me  to  still  greater  efforts  to  increase  my  own 
knowledge  and  I  was  no  longer  content  merely  to  perform 
my  allotted  tasks  at  the  Law  School,  but  spent  several 
hours  a  day  at  the  Astor  Library  and  drew  deep  drafts 
from  that  fine  well. 

During  that  period  I  devoted  all  the  daylight  hours  to 
study,  principally  at  the  Law  School,  sitting  in  the  midst 
of  these  hundreds  of  men  who  had  come  from  all  parts  of 
this  country  and  Japan,  to  imbibe  from  the  lips  of  this 


APPRENTICED  TO  THE  LAW  29 

great  teacher,  Professor  Theodore  W.  Dwight,  the  basis 
of  the  law  of  the  land. 

I  joined  the  Columbia  Club  and  was  elected  one  of  the 
team  to  debate  with  the  Barnard  Club,  all  of  whose  mem 
bers  were  college  graduates,  while  we  had  not  had  that 
advantage.  I  studied  the  subject  of  the  debate,  "Whether 
Participation  in  Profits  or  Agency  Is  the  Correct  Test  of 
Partnership,"  more  thoroughly  than  I  ever  did  any  case 
on  which  I  was  retained  during  my  practice  of  law.  Pro 
fessor  Dwight,  who  presided,  praised  our  thorough  prepa 
ration  and  fine  team  work  and  declared  us  the  winners. 
When  our  class  graduated,  we  had  the  great  honour  of 
having  that  famous  leader  of  the  Bar,  Charles  O'Conor, 
come  out  of  his  retirement  to  bid  us  "Godspeed"  on  our 
way. 

I  was  formally  admitted  to  the  bar  on  June  1,  1877. 

During  my  second  year  in  Law  School  I  did  not  teach 
night  school,  but  supported  myself  by  accepting  a  position 
from  that  fine  Southern  gentleman,  General  Roger  A. 
Pryor,  who  had  been  Congressman,  Minister  to  Spain, 
and  finally  became  a  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
State  of  New  York. 

An  interesting  episode  that  occurred  at  that  time  was 
my  representing  General  Pryor  at  several  meetings  of  the 
owners  of  the  Greenwich  Street  property,  who  had  re 
tained  him  to  seek  an  injunction  to  prevent  the  continued 
use  and  extension  of  the  first  Elevated  road,  which  was  on 
their  street  and  was  propelled  by  a  chain.  They  claimed 
that  their  property  would  be  ruined  for  private  residences, 
and  it  was.  They  did  not  visualize,  however,  that  this 
was  the  first  step  forward  in  the  solution  of  the  transit 
problem  of  New  York,  which  was  then  totally  dependent 
upon  its  horse-car  system;  and  that  someone  had  to  suffer 
for  the  general  good. 

A  very  important  and  valuable  after-effect  of  my  con- 


30  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

nection  with  Pryor's  office  was  my  becoming  acquainted 
with  Mr.  Valentine  Loewi,  for  whom  I  searched  the  title 
in  a  mortgage  transaction.  Loewi  doubted  my  experi 
ence  and  when  Pryor  confronted  me  with  this,  instead  of 
resenting  the  criticism,  as  Loewi  expected  me  to  do,  I 
recognized  its  justice,  and  satisfied  Loewi  by  having  my 
work  checked  up  by  Mr.  Mclntire.  He  became  my  per 
manent  friend  and  one  of  my  firm's  first  clients,  and 
through  his  recommendations  we  secured  some  of  the  most 
valuable  clients  we  ever  had. 

A  little  later  came  the  uproar  consequent  upon  Tilton's 
entering  the  wrong  berth  in  a  sleeping-car.  He  came  to 
Pryor,  and  I  acted  as  secretary  while  these  two  prepared 
the  Tilton  statement  for  the  newspapers.  Curiously, 
both  these  six-footers  had  the  habit,  when  thinking  in 
tensely,  of  striding  across  the  room  with  swinging  arms, 
and  were  that  day  doing  it  in  opposite  directions.  I  was 
constantly  on  the  alert  for  a  collision.  Tilton  would  dictate 
a  phrase.  Pryor  would  stop  and  suggest  another  word. 
Tilton  would  weigh  and  test  it,  and  would  make  still  fur 
ther  corrections.  Not  even  my  weightiest  diplomatic 
notes  from  Constantinople  received  the  care  and  attention 
that  these  few  lines  were  given  by  these  two  masters  of 
English. 

In  the  summer  of  '77,  as  Mr.  Kurzman  was  going  to 
Europe,  he  requested  me  to  come  back  to  Kurzman  & 
Yeaman,  and  as  they  offered  me  a  well-lighted  office,  I 
did  so.  Still  associated  with  Kurzman  was  Alfred 
Mclntire  to  whom  I  have  already  referred,  and  with 
whom  I  had  kept  up  the  pleasantest  of  relations  during 
my  clerkships  with  Shaffer  and  Pryor,  both  of  which  posi 
tions  he  had  secured  for  me.  Mclntire  was  a  New  Eng- 
lander  of  the  very  best  type,  considerably  older  than  Mr. 
Kurzman,  and  recognized  as  one  of  the  best  conveyancers 
of  the  City  of  New  York, 


APPRENTICED  TO  THE  LAW  31 

One  Sunday  while  I  was  visiting  Mclntire,  we  went 
rowing  on  the  Harlem  River,  and  discussed  plans  for  a 
prospective  partnership.  He  was  about  six  foot  two  in 
height,  and  weighed  fully  250  pounds,  and  I  was  to  do  the 
rowing.  Our  skiff  had  not  proceeded  fifty  yards  before 
I  discovered  that  I  could  not  pull  such  a  load  and  get  any 
where.  I  took  this  as  an  omen,  and  then  and  there  re 
solved  that  when  I  did  select  a  law  partner,  he  should  be 
of  my  own  age  and  weight,  so  that  he  could  do  some  of  the 
pulling. 

During  this  summer,  one  of  the  old  clients  of  the  office, 
Henry  Behning,  got  into  very  serious  differences  with  his 
partner  Diehl.  The  matter  became  greatly  complicated, 
and  the  more  complicated  it  became,  the  more  excited 
Behning  grew,  and  the  more  excited  he  was,  the  more  in 
coherent  and  less  comprehensible  was  his  English,  so  that 
Mr.  Yeaman,  who  was  acting  as  his  counsel  in  Mr.  Kurz- 
man's  absence,  despaired  of  understanding  him.  A  cli 
max  was  reached  one  day  when  Diehl's  attorneys  had 
secured  the  appointment  of  a  receiver.  Behning  was 
accusing  the  lawyers,  and  the  judge,  and  everybody  else 
of  all  kinds  of  conspiracies,  and  Yeaman  was  so  bewil 
dered  that  he  called  me  in  to  tell  Behning  that  he  did  not 
think  he  could  do  justice  to  him  because  he  could  not  un 
derstand  his  speech,  and  that  he  had  better  secure  a  Ger 
man-speaking  attorney.  Upon  my  explaining  this  to 
Behning,  he  said:  "All  right,  I'll  take  you."  I  explained 
the  proposition  to  Mr.  Yeaman,  and  he  said  that  if  Behn 
ing  would  be  contented  to  do  all  his  consulting  with  me 
he  would  be  very  glad  to  steer  the  legal  proceedings.  I 
discovered  that  some  of  Behning's  fears  of  conspiracy 
were  justified,  and  concluded  that  the  only  way  to  coun 
teract  them  was  to  throw  the  firm  into  bankruptcy.  I 
prepared  the  necessary  papers,  and  had  them  signed  by 
the  judge  of  the  United  States  District  Court.  I  then 


32  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

communicated  with  the  pompous  ex- judge  who  repre 
sented  Diehl,  and  had  the  tremendous  satisfaction  of  hav 
ing  completely  checkmated  him.  A  prompt  settlement 
resulted.  The  creditors  realized  that  if  they  kept  on 
fighting,  the  lawyers  would  be  dividing  the  assets,  and 
therefore  consented  to  have  Behning  and  Diehl  divide 
them,  and  each  continue  in  business  for  himself,  and  each 
assume  half  the  liabilities. 

Behning  greatly  appreciated  what  I  had  accomplished. 
He  wanted  to  give  me  something  to  prove  it.  As  he  had 
no  spare  cash,  he  offered,  and  with  Yeaman's  consent  1 
accepted,  one  share  of  the  Celluloid  Piano  Key  Company 
stock.  At  that  time,  Arnold,  Cheney  &  Company  had 
cornered  the  word's  ivory  market,  driving  up  the  price  of 
ivory  for  piano  keys  to  $30.00  a  set.  The  piano  manufac 
turers  tried  alabaster  and  other  substitutes  with  small 
success,  when  Behning  thought  of  using  celluloid  and 
formed  the  Celluloid  Piano  Key  Company,  securing  for 
it  the  exclusive  right  for  the  use  of  that  substance  in  piano 
and  organ  keys. 

The  company  was  so  successful  that  its  president 
began  to  intrigue  for  its  control.  The  president  was  an 
Englishman,  the  treasurer  a  Dane,  the  secretary  an 
American,  and  most  of  the  rest  Germans.  Themselves 
densely  ignorant  of  the  manipulations  of  corporations, 
they  finally  feared  that  the  president  was  in  a  fair 
way  to  get  the  company  away  from  them,  whereupon 
those  representing  over  70  per  cent,  of  the  stock  held  a 
hurried  meeting,  but  they  could  not  agree  on  a  common 
policy  because  each  mistrusted  the  others.  I  proposed  that 
they  all  give  their  proxies  to  one  man  who  should  obligate 
himself  faithfully  to  represent  the  interests  of  all  against 
the  president;  they  replied  that  this  was  excellent,  but 
they  could  not  agree  on  the  one  man. 

Then  Behning  spoke: 


APPRENTICED  TO  THE  LAW  3g 

"What's  the  use  of  fencing  any  longer?  The  only  one 
we  all  trust  is  Henry.  Let's  give  him  all  our  proxies." 

They  did  so,  slated  me  for  secretary,  and  as  I  wanted  to 
prevent  any  mischief  until  the  next  annual  meeting,  I 
called  on  the  president,  told  him  I  had  the  proxies  of  70 
per  cent,  and,  with  the  audacity  of  my  years,  warned  him 
that,  if  he  did  anything  improper  for  the  remainder  of  his 
term,  I  would  bring  him  into  court. 

He  asked  me : 

"Are  you  going  to  be  an  officer?" 

"I  am  to  be  secretary,"  I  said. 

"Will  you  protect  my  interest,  and  see  that  I  get  my 
proportionate  share  of  the  profits?" 

I  went  back  to  the  others  and  obtained  the  authority  to 
give  him  this  assurance,  which  I  did. 

"All  right,"  he  declared,  "make  out  my  proxy  to  you 
and  I'll  sign  it." 

I  had  bearded  a  lion  in  his  den  and  brought  a  lamb  out 
with  me.  My  connection  with  this  concern,  in  one  ca 
pacity  or  another,  continued  through  two  decades,  and  I 
was  its  president  when  I  left  it. 

This  adventure  in  celluloid  put  me  in  a  position  where  it 
was  possible  to  realize  my  ambition  to  stop  clerking  and 
start  for  myself. 

It  was  settled  most  unexpectedly.  During  my  attend 
ance  at  Law  School,  Abraham  Goldsmith,  Wilbur  Larre- 
more,  son  of  Judge  Larremore,  and  I  used  to  hold  weekly 
quizzes  at  my  house.  In  that  way  I  had  renewed  my 
friendship  with  Goldsmith,  who  had  been  my  classmate  in 
the  City  College.  One  evening,  early  in  December,  1878, 
Goldsmith  called  and  informed  me  that  Samson  Lachman 
and  he  contemplated  starting  a  law  firm.  I  had  always 
been  very  fond  of  Goldsmith,  and  Samson  Lachman  had 
won  my  unlimited  admiration  when  I  listened  to  his  Com 
mencement  Day  oration  and  saw  him  receive  eleven  prizes, 


34  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

which  were  about  all  that  one  man  could  take.  Hence, 
Goldsmith  found  me  very  receptive,  and  before  we  sepa 
rated  that  evening,  our  partnership  was  an  accomplished 
fact.  We  both  agreed  that  Lachman  was  entitled  to 
head  the  firm.  As  Goldsmith  expressed  indifference  as 
to  his  position,  and  as  Lachman,  Morgenthau  &  Gold 
smith  sounded  more  euphonious,  that  order  was  adopted. 
We  agreed  to  start  on  January  1,  1879.  Our  average 
ages  were  twenty- three.  We  hired  offices  at  No.  243 
Broadway  at  an  annual  rental  of  $400.  Our  net  receipts 
for  the  year  1879  were  $1,500. 

Our  practice,  as  well  as  our  income,  grew  steadily,  but 
I  shall  abstain  from  relating  many  details,  as  most  of  the 
matters  involved  were  not  of  public  interest. 

A  rather  interesting  affair,  because  some  of  the  partici 
pants  are  well  known  to  the  public,  was  the  dissolution  in 
February,  1893,  of  the  firm  of  Wechsler  &  Abraham,  of 
Brooklyn.  We  represented  Wechsler,  and  William  J. 
Gaynor,  afterward  Mayor  of  the  City  of  New  York, 
represented  Abraham.  Their  partnership  agreement 
contained  a  very  peculiar  dissolution  clause.  They  were 
to  meet  on  February  1,  1893,  and  bid  for  the  business, 
and  a  bid  was  to  be  final  only  if  the  non-bidding  partner 
had  failed  to  increase  it  during  a  term  of  twenty-four 
hours.  When  we  met,  I  drew  attention  to  the  fact  that 
if  we  acted  under  the  contract,  either  side  could  prolong 
the  matter  indefinitely,  and  recommended  that  we  amend 
the  agreement  by  reducing  the  limit  to  one  hour.  This 
was  agreed  to  on  condition  that  both  parties  would 
deposit  $500,000  as  an  earnest  of  their  intentions  to 
complete  their  bid,  the  unsuccessful  bidder  to  have 
his  check  returned  to  him.  Isidor  Straus  pulled  out  a 
certified  check  of  $500,000  and  I  instructed  Wechsler  to 
make  out  his  check.  When  Wechsler  admitted  that  he 
did  not  have  that  much  in  the  bank,  I  showed  them  an 


APPRENTICED  TO  THE  LAW  35 

underwriting  that  I  had  secured  from  the  Guaranty  Trust 
Company  and  the  Title  Guarantee  &  Trust  Company,  to 
finance  our  purchase  to  the  extent  of  $1,000,000.  The 
auction  then  proceeded,  and  both  factions  were  cautiously 
watching  each  other.  Gaynor,  Abraham,  and  the 
Strauses  several  times  retired  to  the  other  end  of  the  room 
for  conference,  Nathan  Straus  constantly  pulling  at  one 
of  his  big  cigars  and  pretending  that  they  had  about 
reached  the  limit  of  their  bidding.  I  had  arranged  defi 
nitely  with  Wechsler  that  we  would  bid  an  amount  that 
would  produce  $500,000  for  the  good  will  of  the  business. 
So,  finally,  when  they  came  within  reach  of  about  $100,000 
of  it,  I  bid  the  exact  amount  that  would  produce  the  de 
sired  result.  They  saw  what  I  meant,  and,  as  it  turned 
out,  had  their  last  conference,  which  lasted  about  ten  min 
utes,  and  raised  us  $100.  I  then  informed  them  that  we 
would  take  our  hour.  We  (Wechsler,  Mr.  MacNulty, 
who  was  the  manager  of  the  store,  and  myself)  went  to 
an  adjoining  restaurant  to  discuss  the  matter.  Wechsler 
devoted  fully  forty  minutes  of  the  hour  in  trying  to  per 
suade  me  to  reduce  the  fee  that  he  had  agreed  to  pay  me. 
He  and  I  had  agreed  that  if  he  purchased  the  property, 
and  we  had  to  complete  the  financing  of  it,  my  firm's  fee 
was  to  be  $25,000,  while  if  Abraham  bought  him  out,  we 
were  to  receive  $10,000.  Wechsler  thought  we  had  earned 
it  too  quickly,  and  begged  for  a  reduction.  I  was  abso 
lutely  firm  and  finally  told  him  the  story  of  the  dentist 
who,  with  his  modern  methods,  had  painlessly  extracted 
two  teeth  for  a  farmer  in  two  minutes,  and  when  he  de 
manded  his  fee  of  $2.50,  the  exorbitancy  of  the  charge  was 
objected  to  by  the  farmer,  who  stated  that  when  he  had  his 
last  tooth  extracted,  the  dentist  had  pulled  him  around 
the  room  for  half  an  hour,  and  then  only  charged  him  50 
cents  for  all  that  work.  I  said  to  Wechsler  that  I  could 
have  protracted  this  matter  for  thirty  days,  and  this  delay 


36  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

would  have  been  most  injurious  to  him  on  account  of  his 
diabetic  condition.  He  wanted  me  to  bid  another  $10,000 
so  that  Abraham  would  have  had  to  pay  the  fee,  and  he 
would  have  a  net  $250,000  for  his  good  will.  I  was 
firm  in  my  advice  that  he  was  unwise  to  run  the  business 
alone  and  should  not  risk  securing  it.  We  returned  be 
fore  the  hour  had  expired,  got  Wechsler's  check  back,  and 
his  half  interest  in  the  business  became  the  property  of 
Isidor  and  Nathan  Straus,  for  whom  Abraham  had  in 
reality  been  bidding.  Immediately  thereafter  they 
dropped  Wechsler's  name  and  created  the  well-known 
firm  of  Abraham  &  Straus. 

Incidentally  it  may  be  of  interest  to  the  public  to  know 
that,  when  Isidor  and  Nathan  Straus  divided  their  inter 
ests,  Isidor  and  his  sons  secured  the  business  of  R.  H. 
Macy  &  Co.,  which  they  owned  in  common,  while  Nathan 
and  his  sons  secured  the  half  interest  in  Abraham  &  Straus. 
No  doubt  a  good  share  of  Nathan  Straus'  munificent  chari 
ties  are  financed  to-day  by  his  share  of  the  profits  from 
that  business. 

One  of  the  greatest  surprises  in  our  practice  was  when 
Judge  Horace  Russell  retained  me  as  a  business  lawyer 
to  advise  him  what  to  do  about  the  affairs  of  Hilton, 
Hughes  &  Company,  who  had  succeeded  to  the  business  of 
A.  T.  Stewart  &  Company,  and  who,  in  turn,  were  later 
succeeded  by  John  Wanamaker.  Judge  Russell's  broth 
er-in-law,  Mr.  Hilton,  had  been  increasing  the  volume 
of  the  business  rapidly,  but  his  expense  ratio  was  in 
creasing  much  faster  in  proportion,  so  that,  at  the  end  of 
the  year,  he  showed  a  tremendous  loss.  Some  of  the  big 
gest  banks  in  New  York  were  refusing  to  renew  the  notes, 
even  though  Judge  Hilton  was  willing  to  endorse  them. 
They  said  they  felt  safe  on  all  the  paper  they  had  then 
with  Judge  Hilton's  endorsement  and  collateral,  but  they 
feared  that  if  they  permitted  the  losses  to  continue  much 


APPRENTICED  TO  THE  LAW  37 

longer,  it  might  even  engulf  Judge  Hilton  in  the  unavoid 
able  catastrophe.  I  finally  advised  him  that  he  should 
sell  out  the  business  and  take  his  loss.  He  retained  Mr. 
Elihu  Root  as  counsel.  The  three  of  us  went  over  the 
whole  situation.  I  explained  that,  owing  to  the  very  large 
general  expenses  due  primarily  to  the  excessive  salaries 
which  Hilton  had  agreed  to  pay  under  five-year  contracts 
to  his  buyers,  heads  of  departments,  and  even  the  superin 
tendent  of  the  engine  room,  and  the  bad  credit  in  which 
the  firm  then  stood,  the  only  wise  course  was  to  sell  out  the 
business.  We  concluded  to  do  so,  but  in  the  meantime 
decided  that  it  would  be  necessary  to  make  a  general  as 
signment  to  preserve  the  assets  and  secure  a  reasonable 
settlement  with  the  men  who  held  long  contracts.  When 
the  assignment  was  finally  prepared,  it  had  to  be  executed 
the  following  day,  and  Root,  Russell,  and  I  first  dined  to 
gether,  and  then  remained  in  Russell's  office  until  five  min 
utes  past  midnight,  when  young  Hilton,  in  our  presence 
and  that  of  Mr.  Wright,  the  assignee,  and  a  notary,  exe 
cuted  the  document. 

While  waiting,  Mr.  Root  told  us  of  several  cases  in 
which  he  had  recently  been  retained,  where  the  younger 
generation  dissipated  big  fortunes  in  a  very  short  time. 
He  laid  particular  stress  on  the  case  of  Cyrus  W.  Field, 
who,  in  his  lifetime,  prided  himself  that  he  had  an  income 
of  $1,000  a  day,  which  at  that  time  was  enormous.  I  also 
recall  Root  telling  me  that  night  that  it  was  unwise  for 
any  lawyer  to  devote  himself  entirely  to  politics,  that  he 
should,  when  called  upon,  render  a  public  service,  com 
plete  it,  and  then  return  to  his  profession,  but  be  ready 
for  any  further  calls  that  might  be  made  upon  him.  Root 
has  pursued  that  course  most  successfully. 

I  felt  a  strange  sensation  to  be  present  at  this  midnight 
denouement  of  the  great  business  of  A.  T.  Stewart  & 
Company.  I  could  not  help  but  think  of  the  causes. 


38  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

Judge  Hilton  had  offended  the  Jews  in  America  because 
his  hotel,  the  "Grand  Union"  in  Saratoga,  had  refused  to 
accommodate  Joseph  Seligman,  whom  both  the  New  York 
Chamber  of  Commerce  and  Union  League  Club  honoured 
by  electing  as  one  of  their  vice-presidents.  Hilton  did 
not  then  realize  that  this  act  not  alone  involved  the  loss 
of  his  Jewish  customers,  but  it  would  also  influence  a  great 
many  of  his  Christian  patrons  who  would  resent  such  dis 
crimination,  and  withdraw  their  custom  from  his  firm. 
Most  of  this  trade  went  to  the  rising  firms  of  B.  Alt- 
man  &  Co.  and  Stern  Bros,  and  so  strengthened  them 
that  they  became  great  competitors  of  Hilton,  Hughes  &; 
Company,  and  precipitated  their  downfall.  John  Wana- 
maker  bought  the  lease  and  stock  of  goods.  I  remember 
distinctly  with  what  satisfaction,  when  the  transaction 
was  closed,  he  told  me  that  this  was  the  first  time  that  he 
had  ever  heard  of  so  valuable  a  franchise  being  given  away 
for  nothing.  Wanamaker  shrewdly  disregarded  the  short 
existence  of  Hilton,  Hughes  &  Company,  and  advertised 
John  Wanamaker  as  the  successor  of  A.  T.  Stewart  & 
Company. 


CHAPTER  IV 

REAL  ESTATE 

MY  FIRST  purchase  of  real  estate  was  No.  32 
West  Thirty-fifth  Street,  a  twenty-two-foot, 
white  marble,  high-stoop  building.  I  bought 
it  for  the  modest  sum  of  $15,000  and  resold  it  at  an  advance 
of  $500,  and  thought  I  was  doing  well.  To-day  it  is  worth 
at  least  $110,000.  This,  however,  was  not  my  first 
experience  with  real  estate,  for  that  was  in  1872  when, 
at  the  request  of  my  preceptor,  Mr.  Ferdinand  Kurz- 
man,  I  undertook  for  an  extra  compensation  of  $5  a 
month  to  collect  for  him  the  rents  of  No.  218  Chrystie 
Street. 

The  tenants  of  this  building  in  1872  were  Irish  and  Ger 
mans,  and  one  of  the  stores  was  occupied  as  a  saloon  by  an 
Irishman  named  Ryan  who  catered  to  the  worst  element 
of  the  neighbourhood.  Kurzman,  failing  to  get  rid  of  him 
in  a  peaceful  way,  and  knowing  that  there  was  a  political 
feud  between  him  and  Anthony  Hartman,  the  odd  though 
popular  Justice  of  the  District  Court,  waited  for  the  first 
of  May,  when  only  a  three-hours'  dispossess  notice  was  re 
quired.  Circumstances  favoured  the  plan  because  on  that 
day  the  Thomas  Ryan  Association  were  giving  a  picnic. 
So  the  notice  was  served  by  nailing  it  on  the  door  at  twelve 
o'clock.  Judge  Hartman  opened  court  at  three  o'clock, 
called  the  cases  of  Kurzman  vs.  Ryan,  took  Ryan's  default, 
signed  the  dispossess  warrant,  and  adjourned  the  court, 
compelling  all  other  litigants  to  wait  for  their  justice  until 
the  next  day.  Instead  of  the  usual  one  marshal,  all  those 
attached  to  the  court,  with  their  assistants,  were  hurried 

39 


40  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

to  No.  218  Chrystie  Street,  and  within  two  hours  had  re 
moved  everything  to  the  sidewalk. 

By  that  time  word  had  reached  Ryan,  and  he  and  some 
of  his  henchmen  returned.  They  were  thoroughly  aroused 
but  quite  helpless.  As  there  was  no  court  in  session,  and  the 
marshals  were  in  possession  of  the  premises,  Kurzman  was 
rid  of  Ryan  for  good  and  all.  This  was  the  first  exhibition 
I  ever  saw  of  how  justice  might  be  travestied. 

The  next  day  Ryan's  attorneys  appeared  before  Hart- 
man  and  attempted  to  have  the  proceedings  reopened, 
and  upon  Hartman's  refusal  to  do  so,  attacked  him  bit 
terly.  The  Judge  said  that  if  the  learned  counsel  would 
not  at  once  stop  his  impudent  remarks,  the  court  would 
forget  its  dignity  long  enough  to  leave  the  bench  and 
"punch  him  in  the  jaw." 

My  next  experience  brought  me  in  contact  with  even  a 
worse  element.  Kurzman  had  foreclosed  a  second  mort 
gage  on  some  houses  on  West  Thirty-ninth  Street  between 
Tenth  and  Eleventh  avenues.  They  were  part  of  the 
block  that  was  called  "Hell's  Kitchen."  Many  of  the  ten 
ants  owned  only  a  mattress  and  a  few  chairs,  and  no 
kitchen  utensils  of  any  kind,  and  frequently  paid  their 
rents  in  instalments  of  less  than  one  dollar.  Twice  I  saw 
women  carried  out  of  the  buildings  the  worse  for  the  "ex 
citing  arguments"  they  had  indulged  in  with  some  of  their 
visitors.  It  would  not  have  paid  us  to  dispossess  these 
people,  as  the  new  ones  would  have  been  no  better.  We 
collected  the  rents  for  a  few  months  longer  until  the  first 
mortgages  were  foreclosed. 

This  condition  was  very  general  throughout  the  City  of 
New  York.  The  boom  days  of  real  estate  had  disap 
peared,  and  with  them,  the  optimistic  speculators.  Real 
estate  was  unsalable,  and  those  who  had  received  mort 
gages  in  payment  of  some  of  their  capital  and  all  their 
profits  were  confronted  with  the  choice  of  either  abandon- 


REAL  ESTATE  41 

ing  their  mortgages  or  foreclosing  them  and  again  assum 
ing  control  of  their  property.  The  conferences  between  the 
delinquent  owners  and  the  mortgagees  to  adjust  these 
matters  reminded  one  as  much  of  funerals  as  the  joyous 
meetings  in  the  wine  cellars  had  of  weddings.  These 
middle-class  investors  whom  I  met  in  '72  and  '73  were 
completely  wiped  out  and  never  came  back.  Quite  the 
contrary  was  the  case  with  most  of  those  intrepid  builders 
and  operators  like  John  D.  Crimmins  and  Terrence 
Farley,  who  forgot  their  losses  and  went  at  it  again  with 
fresh  vigour  and  new  courage  as  soon  as  the  liquidation 
had  ended.  In  1879,  when  specie  payment  had  been  re 
sumed,  the  superintendents  of  both  the  insurance  and 
bank  departments  urged  institutions  under  their  super 
vision  to  market  their  real  estate  as  soon  as  possible.  Their 
efforts  and  those  of  other  recent  plaintiffs  to  dispose  of 
their  holdings  started  a  new  active  period.  Real  estate 
again  became  fashionable,  and  the  plucky  operators  and 
builders  who  had  survived  the  drastic  punishment  they 
had  received  were  soon  reinforced  by  a  new  set  of  men,  of 
whom  I  was  one. 

In  1880, 1  turned  my  attention  to  Harlem  where  nearly 
all  the  brownstone  and  brick  houses  that  had  been  built  in 
the  seventies  were  in  the  hands  of  mortgagees,  and  where 
the  owners  of  the  old  frame  houses  were  thoroughly  dis 
couraged  and  could  see  little  hope  in  the  future.  Nearly 
all  of  Harlem  was  for  sale.  I  bought  plots  of  three  to 
five  adjoining  houses  at  a  time,  and  quickly  resold  them 
at  small  profits.  This  activity  stopped  when  President 
Garfield  was  shot.  The  suspense  during  his  illness  caused 
a  complete  cessation,  so  I,  too,  rested  until  October,  1885. 
I  was  then  worth  only  $27,000,  and  as  a  large  part 
of  that  was  represented  by  my  interest  in  the  Cel 
luloid  Piano  Key  Company,  I  had  but  little  working 
capital. 


42  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

My  brother-in-law,  William  J.  Ehrich,  agreed  to  oper 
ate  with  me  in  real  estate,  he  to  contribute  $40,000  capital 
and  I  to  do  the  work.  All  profits,  after  paying  him  inter 
est,  were  to  be  divided  equally. 

At  that  time  my  mother  lived  on  One  Hundred  and 
Twenty-sixth  Street  in  a  house  I  had  purchased,  a  17-foot 
brown-stone  house  with  a  pleasant  yard  which  she  person 
ally  transformed  into  a  delightful  little  garden.  In  my 
frequent  visits  there  I  became  impressed  with  the  prospec 
tive  importance  of  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-fifth  Street. 
It  was  the  first  broad  street  north  of  Forty-second  that 
ran  from  river  to  river,  and  I  foresaw  its  future  value, 
particularly  of  the  block  between  Seventh  and  Eighth 
avenues.  It  seemed  to  me  like  the  neck  of  a  funnel  into 
which  the  entire  neighbouring  population  was  daily  poured 
to  reach  the  Elevated  station  at  One  Hundred  and 
Twenty-fifth  Street  and  Eighth  Avenue. 

Ehrich  and  I  concluded  to  secure  some  property  on 
this  block.  The  first  that  we  obtained  was  the  lease  of 
seven  lots  for  which,  at  the  beginning,  we  paid  the  annual 
rental  of  $4,000.  We  still  own  this  leasehold,  and  the 
gross  rental  now  is  $44,500.  We  subsequently  purchased 
the  adjoining  plot  of  five  lots,  improved  the  same,  and 
were  delighted  when  we  were  enabled  to  sell  it  to  the 
Knickerbocker  Real  Estate  Company  among  whose 
stockholders  were  Solomon  Loeb,  of  Kuhn,  Loeb  &  Com 
pany;  Henry  O.  Havemeyer,  John  D.  Crimmins,  and 
John  E.  Parsons,  at  a  price  which  netted  us  a  profit  of 
$100,000.  This  was  in  1899.  Subsequently,  I  re 
purchased  this  plot  jointly  with  my  partners,  Lachman  & 
Goldsmith,  for  $250,000,  and  within  two  years  thereafter 
sold  it  to  Mr.  Louis  M.  Blumstein  for  $425,000.  This 
was  the  most  profitable,  but  not  the  only  transaction  we 
had  on  this  street.  With  various  associates  I  owned,  at 
one  time  or  another,  one  half  of  the  property  on  the  south 


REAL  ESTATE  43 

side  of  that  block,  so  that  I  made  good  use  of  my  early 
judgment  as  to  its  future  value. 

Our  operations  on  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-fifth 
Street  were  not  confined  to  that  block  alone.  We  had 
also  purchased  various  plots  between  Fifth  and  Sixth 
avenues  and,  with  a  friend,  I  had  collected  a  plot  of  eight 
lots  between  Lexington  and  Fourth  avenues.  This  made 
Oscar  Hammerstein  one  of  my  customers. 

One  day  the  optimistic  Oscar  came  into  my  office  with 
his  serious,  flat-footed  walk,  his  French  silk  hat  on  his  head, 
and  his  eternal  cigar  between  his  fingers.  He  had  just 
completed  the  Harlem  Opera  House  on  West  One  Hun 
dred  and  Twenty-fifth  Street,  and  he  told  me  that,  for  his 
success  there,  it  was  essential  to  have  also  a  theatre  on  the 
East  Side,  and  he  negotiated  for  the  eight  lots  that  we  had 
collected  on  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-fifth  Street  near 
Park  Avenue.  We  spent  several  hours  arranging  the 
details  of  the  lease  of  our  property,  with  privilege  to  buy, 
which  was  what  he  wanted.  He  argued  me  into  giving  it 
to  him  on  a  4  per  cent,  basis  while  the  building  was  being 
constructed.  When  he  was  all  through,  I  said : 

"Do  not  think  that  you  have  deceived  me  as  to  your 
real  aim.  You  want  to  secure  this  property  and  pay 
down  as  little  as  possible  until  your  building  is  completed! 
'All  of  us  who  own  property  on  One  Hundred  and  Twenty- 
fifth  Street  between  Seventh  and  Eighth  avenues  greatly 
appreciate  the  fine  theatre  you  put  there,  and  the  conse 
quent  increase  in  the  value  of  our  property,  and  I  am 
therefore  willing  to  help  you  make  this  enterprise  a  suc 
cess.  I  will  at  once  give  you  a  deed,  and  as  there  is  no 
broker  in  the  transaction,  you  need  only  pay  the  equiva 
lent  of  six  months'  rent  on  account  of  the  purchase  price." 

Hammerstein  gratefully  accepted  the  offer  and,  sub 
sequently,  told  me  how  he  financed  that  entire  operation 
without  any  capital.  He  struck  a  sand-pit  and  saved  all 


44  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

costs  of  excavation,  besides  realizing  over  $30,000  for  the 
sand.  That  furnished  him  nearly  all  the  cash  for  the 
building. 

A  little  later  Hammerstein  got  into  difficulties  about 
an  office  building  next  to  the  Harlem  Opera  House.  He 
wanted  to  borrow  $25,000  on  a  second  mortgage.  He 
practically  put  a  pistol  to  my  head,  and  said: 

"You  folks  must  lend  me  this  money,  or  I  can't  finish 
the  building — and  that  will  force  me  into  bankruptcy." 

I  looked  at  him  and  saw  not  the  optimistic  Oscar,  but 
the  harried  Hammerstein.  He  went  on: 

"You  don't  know  what  that  will  mean.  If  I  go  into 
bankruptcy,  the  Bank  of  Harlem  will  also  have  to  go. 
I  owe  them  over  $50,000  and  they  have  agreed  that,  if  I 
can  finish  the  building,  they  will  buy  it  from  me,  giving 
me  back  my  notes  in  part  payment." 

"But  that  bank,"  I  protested,  "has  only  $100,000  cap 
ital!  How  could  it  lend  you  $50,000?" 

"One  day,"  he  said,  "as  I  was  seated  in  my  little  office 
underneath  the  steps  of  the  Harlem  Opera  House,  the 
president  of  the  Bank  broke  in,  and  leaning  over  my 
shoulder,  handed  me  a  blank  note,  and  asked  me,  for 
God's  sake,  to  make  it  out  to  the  order  of  the  Bank  for 
$10,000.  'Don't  ask  any  questions,'  he  whispered,  'but 
just  do  what  I  want,  and  do  it  quick.'  I  complied  with 
his  request,  I  didn't  stop  to  put  on  my  hat  and  coat,  but 
followed  him  to  the  Bank;  and  just  as  I  expected,  there 
were  the  bank-examiners!" 

He  paused  in  his  narrative  to  give  me  one  of  those 
knowing,  piercing  looks  of  his.  This  was  still  another 
Hammerstein :  he  was  the  accomplished  actor  awaiting  ap 
plause  for  securing  such  an  extensive  and  undeserved 
line  of  credit  from  so  unexpected  a  source. 

"Does  that,"  he  asked,  "explain  to  you  how  I  could 
pull  his  leg?" 


REAL  ESTATE  45 

The  impresario  did  not  then  go  into  bankruptcy.  A 
few  of  us  combined  and  lent  him  the  money.  My  ac 
tivities  in  Harlem  also  included  the  purchase  of  two  solid 
blocks  of  lots. 

In  1887  Ehrich  and  I  bought  from  Oswald  Ottendorfer 
the  entire  block  bounded  by  Lenox  and  Mount  Morris 
avenues  and  One  Hundred  and  Twentieth  and  One  Hun 
dred  and  Twenty-first  streets.  I  induced  the  Otten 
dorfer  s  to  split  the  transaction  and  content  themselves 
with  our  buying  the  Lenox  Avenue  front  outright  and 
their  giving  us  an  option  on  the  Mount  Morris  front.  This 
option  was  sold  for  $10,000  profit,  to  Walter  and  Frank 
Kilpatrick,  and  our  total  profits,  which  we  divided  in  May, 
1887,  were  $43,424.10.  I  always  remembered  the  num 
bers  because  of  the  sequence,  43,  42,  41. 

Immediately  after  we  had  sold  the  Ottendorfer  block 
we  purchased  the  block  to  the  north,  also  for  $325,000. 
In  this  purchase  the  Kilpatricks  joined  us.  I  had  a 
peculiar  experience  when  it  came  to  drawing  the  con 
tracts.  As  the  Ottendorfers  had  agreed  to  take  back 
separate  mortgages  on  every  four  lots,  I  wanted  the 
Astors,  owners  of  this  block,  to  do  the  same.  Mr.  South- 
mayd,  the  partner  of  William  M.  Evarts  and  Joseph  H. 
Choate,  attorneys  for  the  Astors,  refused  to  do  so,  and 
insisted  that  we  give  him  one  mortgage  for  the  entire 
$240,000  which  they  had  agreed  they  would  allow  to  re 
main  on  the  property.  All  my  pleadings  were  in  vain. 
He  even  refused  to  take  back  four  mortgages  on  eight 
lots  each,  saying  that  he  could  not  tell  which  was  the  most 
valuable,  and  we  might  retain  one  or  two  of  the  plots  and 
forfeit  our  equities  on  the  rest. 

Mr.  Southmayd  told  me  that  just  prior  to  the  Panic  of 
1857,  when  farms  of  160  acres  in  Brooklyn  were  being 
sold  at  very  inflated  prices,  an  old  German  truck-farmer 
was  asked  what  he  wanted  for  his  160  acres.  He  de- 


46  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

manded  $50,000,  the  prevailing  price  at  that  time; 
$35,000  cash  and  a  $15,000  mortgage.  When  they  argued 
with  him  that  he  had  reversed  the  order  of  things,  Hans 
still  adhered  to  his  terms,  as  he  claimed  that  the  property 
was  not  worth  over  $15,000,  and  when  asked  why  he 
then  insisted  on  $50,000,  he  answered,  "because  you  paid 
that  amount  to  my  neighbour  Peter  for  the  same  size 
farm."  Southmayd  sneeringly  added  that  after  the 
Panic  of  1857  Hans  got  his  property  back  for  his 
mortgage. 

I  would  not  submit  to  being  balked  by  Southmayd.  I 
made  up  my  mind  to  talk  to  the  famous  John  Jacob 
Astor  himself. 

I  had  never  met  him,  but  he  had  often  been  pointed  out 
to  me,  as,  shortly  before  9  o'clock,  he  walked  with  his 
son,  Waldorf,  down  Fifth  Avenue,  from  their  home  to 
their  office  in  Twenty-fifth  Street.  Astor  was  a  portly 
figure  with  impressive  side-whiskers.  I  watched  for  them 
and  followed  them  to  their  office  and  asked  for  an  inter 
view.  My  plain  statement  of  facts  made  no  apparent 
impression  on  them.  I  tried  again:  I  told  Southmayd's 
story  of  Hans:  a  smile  broke  the  severity  of  the  elder's 
face. 

"Mr.  Astor,"  I  concluded,  "you  must  admit  that  it's 
unfair  to  your  property  to  compare  the  Harlem  of  to-day 
with  the  Brooklyn  of  1856." 

"You're  right,"  said  Astor.  "You  make  me  a  proposi 
tion  of  what  relative  values  you  put  on  the  various  plots, 
and  what  will  be  the  amounts  of  the  separate  mortgages, 
and  I  will  have  it  checked  up."  I  submitted  my  figures 
and  they  were  accepted  without  any  change.  The  mort 
gages  were  paid  long  before  they  were  due,  as  all  the 
property  was  promptly  improved.  I  believe  this  was  the 
first  time  that  the  Astors  broke  away  from  their  policy  of 
not  selling  any  of  their  holdings. 


REAL  ESTATE  47 

While  these  activities  were  going  on  in  Harlem,  a  great 
many  builders  had  erected  rows  and  rows  of  private 
houses  on  the  West  Side,  principally  between  Central 
Park  West  and  Amsterdam  Avenue,  so  as  to  be  adjacent 
to  the  Elevated  roads.  In  1887  and  1888  there  was  a 
considerable  slump,  and  over  three  hundred  new  private 
houses  were  unsold  and  unoccupied.  Everything  looked 
very  gloomy.  All  of  us  who  were  interested  in  the  West 
Side  were  terrified  when  an  announcement  came  that 
there  would  be  an  unrestricted  auction  of  the  Joshua 
Jones  Estate  on  Seventy-fourth  and  Seventy-fifth 
streets  from  Central  Park  West  to  within  a  few  hundred 
feet  of  Amsterdam  Avenue. 

Ehrich  and  I  attended  the  auction,  and  when  the  first 
lot  on  Seventy- fourth  Street  was  put  up  with  the  privilege 
of  the  balance  of  the  block,  we  astonished  the  auctioneer 
and  all  present  by  taking  all  twenty-four  lots. 

That  afternoon  Ehrich  and  I  went  up  to  look 
at  our  purchase.  As  we  walked  over  the  lots  a  couple 
of  men  shouted  at  us  to  get  off  the  property.  We 
asked  'them  why,  and  they  said:  "Don't  you  see  our 
traps?  We  are  catching  birds  here." 

There  is  not  much  bird-trapping  in  that  neighbourhood 
to-day! 

Success  breeds  enterprise.  When  we  had  disposed  of 
these  various  plots  at  a  good  profit,  I  was  ambitious  to 
undertake  still  larger  transactions.  The  original  Rapid 
Transit  Commission  was  then  laying  out  the  routes  of  the 
first  subway,  and  I,  in  search  of  another  One  Hundred 
and  Twenty-fifth  Street,  began  to  prospect  for  the  district 
in  which  the  Commission  would  be  likely  to  locate  a 
northerly  spur,  concluding  that  if  Washington  Heights 
were  made  accessible,  One  Hundred  and  Eighty-first 
Street  would  become  the  important  thoroughfare  of  that 
neighbourhood. 


48  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

There  were  four  hundred  lots  owned  by  Levi  P.  Mor 
ton,  then  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  and  George 
Bliss,  of  Morton,  Bliss  &  Company,  for  which  I  had  prac 
tically  concluded  my  negotiations  in  September,  1890, 
when  the  Old  World  was  shocked  by  the  failure  of  Baring 
Brothers,  the  largest  banking  house  of  England.  All 
negotiations  were  stopped.  But,  in  February,  1891, 
about  eighty  lots  located  in  this  vicinity  were  successfully 
disposed  of  at  auction.  Peter  F.  Meyer,  who  conducted 
that  sale,  assured  me  that  less  than  one  half  of  the  bidders 
had  secured  lots. 

On  the  strength  of  this  success,  I  asked  L.  J.  Phillips 
to  ascertain  whether,  owing  to  the  financial  stress  of  the 
times,  the  owners,  Morton  and  Bliss,  would  take 
$900,000  for  their  property,  for  which  they  had  formerly 
asked  $1,000,000. 

Phillips's  report  was  brief:  "Nothing  less  than  a  mil 
lion." 

This  was  what  I  really  expected,  and  my  directions 
were  briefer:  "Go  close  it!" 

On  March  26th  I  signed  the  contract.  I  paid  $50,000 
down  and  agreed  to  pay  $300,000  more  on  May  27th.  I 
then  interested  about  fifteen  people  in  the  syndicate, 
many  of  whom  were  very  prominent  in  real  estate.  We 
were  granted  special  facilities  to  open  One  Hundred  and 
Eighty-second  Street,  and  had  all  the  work  done  before 
the  auction. 

This  arrangement  gave  us  sixteen  complete  blocks  with 
sixty-four  corners,  a  most  unusual  percentage. 

There  were  a  number  of  fortuitous  circumstances  which 
helped  to  make  for  success.  James  Gordon  Bennett 
having  large  possessions  in  that  neighbourhood,  directed 
that  our  sale  receive  generous  attention  in  the  Herald. 
There  had  been  a  secession  of  some  of  the  auctioneers 
from  the  Real  Estate  Exchange,  which  then  occupied  its 


REAL  ESTATE  49 

own  building  at  No.  65  Liberty  Street.  Their  manager 
called  and  said  that  their  Board  of  Directors  were  ready 
to  do  almost  anything  that  I  would  ask  to  secure  the  sale. 
They  allowed  me  to  display  in  the  salesroom  during  all  of 
May  a  sign  60  feet  wide  and  20  feet  in  height,  and  they 
also  agreed  that  they  would  permit  no  other  sale  on 
May  26th. 

We  had  numerous  conferences,  and  none  of  my  asso 
ciates  agreed  with  me  that  it  was  possible  to  sell  so  many 
lots  at  one  session,  but  I  was  absolutely  firm  and  insisted 
that  it  be  tried.  I  conceded  that  I  would  stop  the  auction 
if  I  found  that  the  purchasers  had  been  exhausted,  or  that 
the  lots  were  being  sold  at  a  loss.  Thousands  of  people 
visited  the  property  on  the  preceding  Saturdays  and  Sun 
days.  We  could  have  sold  the  property  on  the  26th  of 
May  without  having  made  our  final  payment,  and  could 
have  used  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  for  that  purpose,  but 
to  avoid  any  possible  question  as  to  whether  we  had  taken 
title  or  not,  we  closed  the  title  on  the  day  before  the  sale. 
As  we  -were  about  leaving  Morton,  Bliss  &  Company's 
offices,  both  Bliss  and  Morton  expressed  the  wish  that  we 
might  have  a  great  success  the  next  day,  and  the  genial 
Vice-President  of  the  United  States  added:  "If  there  is 
anything  I  can  do,  please  call  upon  me."  In  response,  I 
asked  him  whether  he  would  come  over  to  the  auction- 
room  and  if  necessary,  to  convince  the  public  of  our 
authority  to  sell  the  property,  whether  he  would  make  a 
statement  from  the  auctioneer's  stand.  He  consented  to 
do  so  and  waited  at  his  office  until  I  notified  him  that 
there  was  no  need  of  his  remaining  any  longer. 

When  the  auction  started,  the  entire  floor  as  well  as 
the  auction  stands  and  gallery  were  crowded  to  capacity. 
The  bidding  was  very  lively,  and  when  some  of  the  One 
Hundred  and  Eighty-first  Street  corner  lots  sold  for  over 
$10,000,  there  was  considerable  applause. 


50  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

The  auction  lasted  until  seven  o'clock,  and  every  one  of 
the  411  lots  was  sold.  Ex-Register  John  Reilly  had 
paid  the  highest  prices :  he  bought  the  entire  front  on  the 
west  side  of  St.  Nicholas  Avenue  from  One  Hundred  and 
Eightieth  to  One  Hundred  and  Eighty-first  streets, 
and  he  afterward  confided  to  me  that  he  had  suc 
ceeded  where  we  failed  in  finding  out  that  the  Subway 
was  to  go  through  St.  Nicholas  Avenue,  and  that  there 
was  to  be  a  station  at  One  Hundred  and  Eighty-first 
Street.  The  corners  of  One  Hundred  and  Eighty-first 
Street  and  St.  Nicholas  Avenue  are  to-day  the  most  val 
uable  on  Washington  Heights. 

Our  syndicate  was  well  satisfied  with  the  result,  as  we 
divided  a  profit  of  $480,000  amongst  the  men  who  had 
invested  $300,000.  They  showed  their  appreciation  of  my 
work  by  presenting  me  with  a  magnificent  silver  service, 
which  was  greatly  admired  by  my  Turkish  visitors  in 
Constantinople. 

I  was  quite  carried  away  with  my  success,  and  my 
enthusiasm  made  me  an  easy  prey  to  the  temptation 
of  participating  in  a  still  larger  scheme — the  develop 
ment  of  the  Town  of  Bridgeport,  Alabama.  A  few  years 
prior  to  1891  there  had  been  a  great  boom  in  Birming 
ham  and  Anniston,  so  that  I  was  easily  persuaded  by  the 
firm  that  had  been  associated  with  me  in  the  purchase 
of  the  Astor  Block  to  go  in  with  them  to  develop 
Bridgeport. 

All  of  us  in  the  North  felt  that  the  South  was  "coming 
back"  and  Bridgeport  was  near  coal  and  iron  fields  and 
had  good  water  power.  We  started  development,  stove- 
and  iron-pipe  companies,  a  hotel,  and  a  bank.  We  be 
lieved,  with  energetic  New  Yorkers  back  of  it,  this  little 
town  on  the  Tennessee  River  could  be  made  a  great  manu 
facturing  centre ;  we  all  forgot  that  it  was  very  far  from 
Broadway.  Before  I  knew  it,  I  had  sunk  more  than 


REAL  ESTATE  51 

my  Washington  Heights  profit,  and  I  am  still  paying 
taxes  on  some  of  the  land  that  I  bought  at  that  time. 

The  loss  of  that  money  was  a  wholesome  lesson,  and 
I  resolved  to  stick  to  New  York.  I  broke  this  resolve  on 
only  one  other  occasion,  and  that  was  my  venture  into  the 
Bamberger-Delaware  gold  mine:  we  took  out  plenty  of 
gold — something  like  $600,000  a  year,  but  it  cost  us 
more  than  that  to  do  so.  That  investment  also  proved  a 
total  loss. 

In  the  winter  of  1891  we  began  an  operation  which  was 
to  result  in  winning  the  record  for  rapid  construction  up 
to  that  date.  Our  tenants  in  the  Hoagland  property  at 
Fifteenth  Street  and  Sixth  Avenue  failed.  We  concluded 
to  tear  down  the  old  buildings  and  erect  a  new  one.  We 
had  been  negotiating  unsuccessfully  with  Baumann,  the 
furniture  dealer,  so  we  planned  with  our  architect  to  put 
up  a  four-story  building.  I  was  in  the  architect's  office 
the  latter  part  of  January,  when  in  walked  Mr.  Baumann 
and  told  me  that  if  I  would  guarantee  to  finish  the  build 
ing  by  April  30th,  he  would  pay  the  price  I  asked. 

I  consulted  my  architect,  Albert  Buchman. 

"It's  impossible,"  he  declared,  "four  and  a  half  months 
— June  15th  is  the  earliest  date  conceivable." 

"Even  if  we  use  double  shifts?" 

"Even  if  we  use  double  shifts." 

"Well,"  I  said,  "I'm  going  to  chance  it." 

Buchman's  allotment  for  the  excavation  was  fifteen 
days.  I  sent  for  Patrick  Norton,  who  had  done  some  ex 
cavating  work  for  me  in  Harlem. 

"Pat,"  I  asked,  after  I  had  sketched  the  case,  "is  there 
any  objection  to  working  twenty-four  hours  a  day?" 

"That  depends,"  said  he. 

"Well,  if  you  went  at  it  on  that  basis,  couldn't  you  fin 
ish  this  job  in  seven  instead  of  fifteen  days?  I'll  pay  for 
the  light,  and  I'll  give  you  25  per  cent,  extra." 


52  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

Norton  belonged  to  the  type  of  bluff,  enterprising  con 
tractors.  The  novelty  appealed  to  him,  and  he  accepted 
it  on  the  spot  and  completed  the  job  on  time. 

Everything  else  went  with  similar  speed.  We  were 
told  that  it  would  take  some  time  to  get  the  iron  posts 
required  for  the  cellar;  I  showed  our  plans  to  a  man 
from  Jackson  &  Company,  and  asked  him  whether,  for  an 
extra  consideration,  he  could  have  the  posts  required  for 
the  job  finished  within  a  week.  Within  three  days  he 
made  his  deliveries.  We  changed  our  specifications  and 
substituted  wooden  ceilings  for  plaster.  We  had  the 
building  finished  and  the  elevators  running  on  April  27th. 
The  building  was  a  four-story  structure  with  an  iron  front 
covering  five  full  lots,  and  we  erected  it  for  a  trifle  under 
$110,000. 

I  had  another  but  less  satisfactory  experience  with  Pat 
Norton : 

In  the  winter  of  '97  I  bought  from  Collis  P.  Huntington 
a  tract  of  land  running  from  One  Hundred  and  Thirty- 
eighth  to  One  Hundred  and  Forty-first  streets  and  from 
St.  Ann  Avenue  eastward.  The  Title  Company  dis 
covered  that  Huntington  did  not  own  as  large  an  area  as 
was  described  in  the  contract,  so  I  called  on  him  to  ask  for 
a  reduction.  It  was  a  memorable  sight  to  behold  this 
great  old  gentlemen,  6  feet  3  inches  in  height,  over  eighty 
years  of  age,  with  as  keen  an  intellect  as  a  man  of  thirty, 
trying  to  fathom  my  motives  and  playing  with  me  as  a 
cat  plays  with  a  mouse.  He  leaned  forward  to  get  close 
to  me,  adjusting  his  little  skull  cap  a  bit,  and  said: 

"Suppose  I  make  you  no  concession  at  all!  Are  you 
going  to  throw  up  that  contract,  or  take  the  property?" 

"I  will  take  the  property  because  I  expect  to  make  a 
profit,"  I  said,  "but  I  am  going  to  rely  on  you  to  do  the 
fair  thing  by  me." 

He  sat  back  in  his  chair  and  told  me  his  experiences 


REAL  ESTATE  53 

with  Trenor  W.  Park,  who  wanted  to  buy  a  railroad  from 
him.  A  dispute  arose  about  it,  which  resulted  in  a  law 
suit.  Afterwards,  Park  wanted  to  settle  and  buy  him 
out.  Huntington  fixed  the  price,  and  as  Park  hesitated, 
he  told  him  that  for  every  day  he  delayed  in  accepting 
the  offer  he  would  add  $100,000  to  his  price,  and  as  seven 
days  had  expired  since  his  first  offer,  the  price  was 
$700,000  more  that  day.  Park  agreed  to  that  figure 
before  he  left  the  room. 

"My  experience,"  said  Huntington,  "is  that  no  man 
benefits  by  law-suits,  but  that  no  man  can  succeed  if  he  is 
afraid  of  them.  Now,  what  do  you  really  think  would 
be  the  fair  thing  for  me  to  do  in  your  case?" 

I  mentioned  a  sum,  and  he  said : 

"Strange  to  say,  that  is  the  figure  I  had  in  my  mind." 
He  dictated  a  letter  then  and  there,  agreeing  to  the  re 
duction.  , 

We  were  anxious  to  dispose  of  the  Huntington  property 
at  auction,  and  hurriedly  prepared  it.  There  was  a  stone 
fence  running  diagonally  over  the  southerly  part  of  the 
property,  and  I  thought  it  would  improve  the  appearance 
of  this  place  to  have  the  stones  removed,  and  as  Norton 
was  putting  through  the  streets  and  laying  the  sidewalks, 
I  made  a  contract  to  have  him  do  so  for  $800.  The  next 
morning  I  was  impelled  to  visit  the  Huntington  property. 
I  was  amazed  to  find  150  Italians  working  shoulder  to 
shoulder,  digging  a  trench  alongside  the  stone  wall,  and 
dumping  the  stones  into  it.  I  stopped  them  and  sent 
for  Norton.  When  he  came,  instead  of  being  ready  to 
apologize,  he  wore  a  broad  grin  and  said  that  he  never  ex 
pected  me  to  come  there,  as  I  always  came  alternate  days : 
by  the  second  day  no  trace  of  that  trench  would  have  been 
left — what  difference  would  it  make  to  me,  as  long  as  it 
had  disappeared,  where  it  had  gone? 

We  advertised  an  auction  of  this  property  for  April  5, 


54  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

1898.  Because  of  the  expectation  of  a  war  with  Spain, 
a  number  of  people  asked  me  to  abandon  the  sale.  I 
agreed  with  their  arguments  that  the  sale  would  not  suc 
ceed,  but  I  wanted  to  see  if  my  analysis  of  the  psychology 
of  prospective  buyers  was  correct,  which  was,  that  some 
persons  expecting  big  bargains  would  come  to  the  sale 
and  would  buy.  So  I  concluded  to  put  up  a  few  of  the 
least  valuable  lots — those  that  had  considerably  more  rock 
above  the  surface — and  then  try  some  of  the  St.  Ann 
Avenue  fronts.  Just  as  I  expected,  the  rock  lots  brought 
a  very  low  price,  but  really  all  they  were  worth,  and  were 
purchased  by  one  of  the  shrewdest  dealers  in  New  York. 
We  stopped  the  sale  after  thirty  were  sold. 

In  the  winter  of  1894  great  excitement  was  caused 
among  the  real  estate  men  by  mysterious  efforts  to  secure 
the  block  on  the  east  side  of  Sixth  Avenue  between  Eigh 
teenth  and  Nineteenth  streets.  I  was  keenly  interested 
because  if  the  east  side  of  Sixth  Avenue  was  to  be  devel 
oped  it  would  injure  our  Hoagland  property,  especially 
if  it  were  a  retail  concern,  which  would  throw  the  travel 
from  Macy's  on  the  east  side.  I,  therefore,  called  on  my 
old  friend  William  R.  Rose,  who  was  acting  as  attorney 
in  the  matter.  On  my  assuring  him  that  I  wished  to 
benefit  by  my  information  without  interfering  with  his 
scheme,  he  told  me  that  the  site  was  being  collected  for  a 
retail  drygoods  store  with  a  main  entrance  on  Sixth  Ave 
nue,  and  it  finally  turned  out  to  be  Siegel-Cooper  &  Com 
pany.  I  immediately  negotiated  for  the  properties  on 
the  east  side  of  Sixth  Avenue  adjoining  this  block  and 
secured  for  Lachman,  Morgenthau  &  Goldsmith  from 
William  Waldorf  Astor  the  Nineteenth  Street  corner 
now  occupied  by  the  Alexander  Building,  and  for  myself 
alone  the  entire  block  from  Seventeenth  to  Eighteenth 
street  to  a  depth  of  180  feet,  from  some  of  the  descendants 
of  John  Jacob  Astor.  Simultaneously  with  the  completion 


Mr.  Morgenthau  pla>  fully  refers  to  this  picture  as  the 
Morgenthau  dynasty 


REAL  ESTATE  55 

of  the  Siegel-Cooper  Company,  I  modernized  the  block 
front  from  Seventeenth  to  Eighteenth  Street,  and  we 
erected  a  new  building  on  the  corner  of  Nineteenth  Street, 
and  sold  it  to  Andrew  Alexander. 

One  evening  Alwyn  Ball,  Jr.,  told  me  that  Henry 
Parish  wanted  to  sell  his  house  at  the  corner  of  Fifth  Ave 
nue  and  Nineteenth  Street.  I  suggested  that  I  would 
buy  the  property  if  Mr.  Parish  would  take  in  part  pay 
ment  the  second  mortgage  of  $100,000  that  Alexander 
had  given  us  on  his  corner.  The  Astor  Estate  held  the 
first  mortgage  of  $100,000.  Ball  looked  aghast. 

"Why,"  he  said,  "that's  a  preposterous  proposition! 
The  idea  of  offering  a  second  mortgage  on  a  leasehold  for 
the  fee  of  a  first-class  Fifth  Avenue  corner,  and  to  make 
it  to  so  conservative  a  man  as  Mr.  Parish !  He  has  never 
even  had  a- telephone  in  the  offices  of  the  New  York  Life 
Insurance  &  Trust  Company,  of  which  he  is  president! 
You  must  want  me  to  be  kicked  downstairs." 

"You're  absolutely  mistaken,"  I  answered.  "Mr.  Par 
ish  is  constantly  buying  mercantile  notes  for  his  Trust 
Company,  and  will  know  that  this  personal  bond  of 
Andrew  Alexander's,  guaranteed  by  me,  is  as  good  as  any 
note  that  he  has  in  his  wallet.  His  office  is  on  the  ground 
floor — you  needn't  be  afraid  of  being  kicked  downstairs." 

Ball  presented  the  offer  and  Parish  accepted  it.  The 
mortgage  was  paid  on  its  due  date :  I  made  a  small  profit 
on  the  Parish  house  and  disposed  of  an  almost  unmarket 
able  mortgage  without  any  loss;  Ball  made  a  good  com 
mission,  and  so  all  were  happy. 

Shortly  after  I  had  another  deal  with  William  Waldorf 
Astor.  It  involved  a  part  of  the  Semler  farm  on  the 
east  side  from  Fourth  to  Tenth  streets.  My  negotiations 
with  Charles  A.  Peabody,  now  president  of  the  Mutual 
Life  Insurance  Company  of  New  York,  were  drawn  out 
for  over  six  months,  as  his  letters  had  to  follow  Astor  all 


56  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

over  Europe.  After  we  had  come  to  a  definite  arrange 
ment,  war  was  declared  with  Spain.  Peabody  surprised 
me  one  day  when  he  came  unannounced  to  my  office  to 
ask  me  whether  I  was  still  willing  to  make  the  purchase. 
I  told  him  that  I  was  convinced  that  the  war  would  not 
affect  the  thrifty  Germans  who  were  occupying  these 
houses,  and  to  whom  I  expected  to  sell  the  fees ;  and  that 
I  would  be  more  pleased  if  he  would  sell  me  one  hundred 
houses  instead  of  forty.  We  entered  into  a  contract  to 
purchase  forty  lots  on  which  the  leases  expired  within  a 
year.  There  was  tremendous  excitement  among  the 
tenants;  protest  meetings  were  called  and  cables  sent  to 
Astor.  This  brought  me  another  visit  from  Mr.  Peabody. 

"Now,  Morgenthau,"  he  said  after  sketching  his  pre 
dicament,  "will  you  try  to  help  us  out?" 

"I  am  perfectly  willing,"  I  said,  "to  take  other  property 
of  Mr.  Astor's,  and  let  him  deal  direct  with  the  objecting 
tenants,  but  I  want  a  corner  plot  for  a  corner  plot,  and  an 
inside  avenue  plot  for  an  inside  avenue  plot  and  as  many 
inside  street  lots  as  I  was  to  have  had.  Although  you 
have  no  properties  on  which  the  leases  terminate  the  same 
time  as  these  for  which  I  am  under  contract,  I  am  willing 
to  buy  them  on  the  same  basis," — which  was  multiplying 
the  annual  ground  rent  by  twenty. 

Peabody  said  that  this  was  eminently  fair;  he  would 
try  and  show  his  appreciation,  which  he  did,  by  selling  us 
forty-four  plots  instead  of  forty.  We  consummated  the 
transaction  on  July  18,  1898.  The  deed  that  was  given 
was  the  first  in  which  William  Waldorf  Astor  failed  to 
describe  himself  as  "of  the  City  of  New  York."  It  was 
a  very  satisfactory  transaction,  as  all  but  three  of  the  ten 
ants  availed  themselves  of  the  privilege  we  gave  them  to 
buy  the  property  from  us  at  a  reasonable  profit. 

The  year  1898  marked  the  twentieth  anniversary  of 
Lachman,  Morgenthau  &  Goldsmith.  As  I  was  leaving 


REAL  ESTATE  57 

for  my  summer  vacation,  my  partners  urged  me  to  plan 
out  how  we  could  celebrate  that  event.  While  I  was 
fishing  in  the  Thousand  Islands,  the  infrequency  of  the 
bites  of  the  black  bass  left  me  ample  time  for  reflection, 
and  I  concluded  that  instead  of  a  celebration,  it  would 
be  a  separation.  I  had  felt  so  inclined  for  many  years, 
but  the  delightful  association  with  my  partners,  the  ex 
treme  consideration  they  constantly  showed  me,  the  deep 
affection  we  felt  for  one  another,  had  caused  me  to  delay, 
and  their  persuasion  not  to  do  so  had  prevented  my  taking 
the  final  step.  Here  during  these  uninterrupted  hours  on 
the  St.  Lawrence,  I  was  able  to  look  at  myself  objectively 
and  from  both  a  retrospective  and  prospective  point  of 
view. 

The  success  of  my  real  estate  operations  had  won  me 
away  from  the  exclusive  devotion  to  the  law  which  is  so 
essential  to  rise  in  that  profession.  In  figuring  the  profits 
that  had  been  made  by  the  various  real  estate  syndicates 
that  I  had  managed  since  1891,  I  was  surprised  at  the 
total,  and  realizing  that  at  no  one  time  had  I  had  the  use 
of  more  than  $500,000  of  my  friends'  and  my  own  money, 
I  concluded  that  if  I  had  had  a  company  with  that  amount 
of  capital,  and  could  show  the  profits  that  had  been  made 
as  surplus,  the  good  will  of  such  a  company  would  be  very 
valuable  and  would  be  reflected  in  the  selling  price  of  the 
stock.  So  why  not  induce  some  leading  financiers  to  join 
me  in  the  formation  of  a  real  estate  trust  company,  which 
would  do  for  real  estate  what  the  banking  institutions 
have  done  for  the  railroads  and  industrials? 

I  wrote  my  partners  of  my  decision,  and  told  them  that 
I  would  withdraw  from  the  firm  on  January  1,  1899. 

Among  others  with  whom  I  discussed  my  scheme  were 
Frederick  Southack  and  Alwyn  Ball,  Jr.,  who  had  sur 
prised  me  by  informing  me  that  they  had  had  a  similar 
thought  and  had  already  secured  from  the  New  York 


58  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

Legislature  a  special  charter  granting  the  privileges  that 
would  fit  my  scheme. 

They  asked  me  to  join  them  and  accept  the  presidency 
of  this  company.  I  accepted  conditionally,  telling  them, 
however,  that  I  would  aim  very  high  as  to  my  associates 
and  would  insist  that  as  chairman  of  the  executive  com 
mittee  there  be  secured  either  the  leading  banker,  J.  P. 
Morgan,  or  the  leading  bank  president,  James  Stillman, 
or  the  leading  trust  company  president,  F.  P.  Olcott. 

Southack  and  James  H.  Post,  who  was  a  director  in 
the  National  City  Bank,  presented  the  scheme  to  Mr. 
Stillman,  who  kept  it  under  advisement  for  several  weeks, 
but  finally  declined  because  he  had  been  advised  that  some 
of  our  operations  might  be  too  speculative.  In  the  mean 
time,  Southack  and  Ball  had,  in  addition  to  Mr.  Post, 
interested  Henry  O.  Havemeyer,  John  D.  Crimmins,  and 
several  others.  They  then  presented  the  matter  to  Mr. 
F.  P.  Olcott,  president  of  the  Central  Trust  Company, 
who  was  a  trustee  of  the  estate  of  S outback's  father. 
Olcott  listened  to  the  outlining  of  the  plans  of  such  a 
company,  and  when  they  proposed  me  as  president  and 
told  him  of  the  great  profits  I  had  made  in  real  estate,  he 
said  that  when  it  came  to  any  proposition  involving  real 
estate,  he  was  entirely  guided  by  Hugh  J.  Grant,  whose 
office  adjoined  his. 

Grant  had,  while  Mayor  of  New  York,  appointed 
Olcott  to  the  first  Rapid  Transit  Commission,  and  when 
he  was  appointed  receiver  of  the  St.  Nicholas  Bank,  Grant 
called  on  Olcott  and  availed  himself  of  an  offer  thereto 
fore  made  him  by  Olcott  to  be  of  service  to  him.  He  told 
Olcott  that  he  was  very  anxious  to  make  a  record  as  re 
ceiver,  and  asked  an  immediate  loan  of  as  much  as  the 
assets  of  the  bank  justified  to  enable  him  to  declare 
'promptly  a  substantial  dividend  to  the  depositors.  Olcott 
not  only  did  this,  but  was  so  pleased  with  the  manner  in 


REAL  ESTATE  59 

which  Grant  handled  the  receivership,  that  he  urged  him 
to  abandon  his  railway  advertising  business.  He  did  so, 
and  took  offices  next  to  Olcott  and  above  those  of  Brady, 
and  became  the  third  member  of  that  famous  combina 
tion — Brady,  the  creator  of  the  schemes ;  Olcott,  the  finan 
cier;  and  Grant,  the  expert  in  political  and  municipal 
affairs. 

He  called  Grant  into  the  office.  Grant  listened  most 
attentively  to  the  proposition,  and  then  said: 

"Morgenthau  has  been  too  successful  to  be  willing  to 
work  for  a  salary  and  accept  the  presidency  of  a  com 
pany." 

As  Southack  and  Ball  insisted  that  he  was  mistaken, 
Grant,  with  his  usual  directness,  came  right  over  to  see 
me.  That  visit  was  a  very  memorable  one  for  me. 
We  carefully  canvassed  the  entire  proposition  and  con 
cluded  then  and  there  that  not  only  was  I  to  take  the 
presidency,  but  that  Grant  should  take  the  vice- 
presidency,  and  become  a  visible  figure  in  finance  and 
cease  being  known  as  an  unattached  associate  of  Olcott 
and  Brady. 

Grant's  greatest  faculty  was  in  being  able  to  "sniff" 
success,  and  through  his  tremendous  amiability — which 
had  made  him  so  popular  a  man  in  New  York — he  was 
able  to  appeal  to  successful  men,  who  heartily  welcomed 
his  cooperation  on  equal  terms  with  themselves  in  their 
various  enterprises.  He  also  had  watched  me  during  my 
career,  and  realized  the  wisdom  of  a  combination  with  me 
from  his  point  of  view;  while  I  realized  that  a  close  co 
operation — a  supplementing  of  one  another — would  benefit 
us  both,  so  we  fell  into  each  other's  arms.  Grant  and  I 
then  and  there  agreed  to  join  forces.  He  agreed  to  take 
1,000  shares  for  himself,  1,000  shares  for  Mr.  Olcott,  and 
within  an  hour  telephoned  me  to  note  also  Anthony  N. 
Brady's  subscription  for  1,000  shares.  That  afternoon 


60  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

when  Southack  and  Ball  came  in  and  heard  of  the  sub 
scriptions,  they  each  insisted  upon  the  right  to  subscribe 
for  1,000  shares. 

This  disposed  of  one  half  of  the  stock.  I  wanted  one 
half  of  the  remaining  5,000  shares,  but  unfortunately  for 
me,  the  others  insisted  that  I  should  content  myself  with 
1,000,  and  that  the  other  4,000  should  be  distributed 
amongst  the  rest  of  the  directors,  and  amongst  lawyers  and 
real  estate  operators  and  brokers,  whose  interests  would 
produce  business  for  the  company.  There  was  a  tre 
mendous  scramble  for  the  stock,  and  it  was  impossible  for 
us  to  satisfy  the  demand. 

A  few  days  later  Grant  introduced  me  to  Olcott,  who 
gave  me  quite  a  dissertation  on  how  to  run  a  trust  com 
pany.  He  said  that  the  most  important  thing  was  to 
have  no  men  around  who  had  any  "yellow"  in  them  and 
that  the  president  must  get  the  business  and  leave  it  to 
the  other  officers  to  execute  it  and  carry  out  the  details. 
He  laid  the  greatest  stress  on  the  fact  that  the  head  of 
a  company  must  disregard  details  entirely. 

"He  ought  constantly  to  have  his  mind,"  said  Olcott, 
"on  the  larger  matters,  and  should  abstain  from  doing  any 
work  that  can  be  done  by  any  expert  help  that  can  be 
hired." 

On  my  part,  I  gave  to  Olcott  a  sketch  of  how  I  thought 
the  company  should  be  developed,  explaining  to  him  that 
the  prejudice  of  the  big  trust  companies  and  banks  against 
real  estate  was  not  justified,  and  that  the  financial  inter 
ests  of  New  York  had  so  far  failed  to  recognize  the  in 
creased  stability  of  real  estate,  due  to  the  enlarged  popu 
lation  of  the  city  and  to  the  definite  fixation  of  certain 
trades  in  certain  neighbourhoods.  I  instanced  the  finan 
cial  centre  in  Wall  Street;  the  jewellery  centre  in  Maiden 
Lane ;  the  retail  centres,  and  the  definite  northward  devel 
opment  of  Broadway.  I  also  explained  how  many  very 


REAL  ESTATE  61 

substantial  men  had  entered  the  real  estate  field,  and  how 
the  general  prosperity  of  the  country  had  improved  values 
in  New  York  City. 

"Now,"  I  said,  "this  group  of  successful  men  can  only 
handle  the  large  units  that  the  exigencies  of  the  time  are 
demanding  if  they  have  additional  financial  facilities 
given  them.  Those  facilities  our  company  should  provide." 

I  explained  how  many  groups  of  men  had  formed 
real  estate  corporations,  only  to  discover  that  even  then 
their  resources  were  inadequate  to  handle  all  the  profit 
able  business  that  was  coming  to  them.  I  told  of  some  of 
my  own  larger  transactions;  how  I  always  had  to  get 
others  to  help  me  finance  them,  and  how,  therefore,  such  a 
company  as  the  one  we  proposed  forming  would  undoubt 
edly  become  the  syndicate  manager  of  some  of  the  larger 
operations.  I  told  him  if  he  had  no  objections,  we  could 
secure  large  deposits.  Olcott  replied  that  my  plans  would 
in  no  way  conflict  with  his  corporation,  and  that  I  should 
do  any  business  that  I  deemed  profitable.  He  asked  me 
whom  I  wanted  on  the  board,  and  I  told  him  that  I  should 
like  to  have  some  representatives  of  the  Mutual  Life 
Insurance  Company,  who  were  then  the  largest  investors 
in  mortgages  on  New  York  City  real  estate,  and  sug 
gested  Messrs.  Juilliard  and  Jarvie,  the  two  best  known 
and  most  influential  members  of  its  board. 

We  settled  on  a  number  of  other  directors,  and  a  few 
days  later  Stillman  sent  word  that  he  wanted  some  of  the 
stock.  Olcott  agreed  that  he  should  only  be  given  some 
of  the  stock  if  he  consented  to  serve  on  the  Executive  Com 
mittee.  Post  and  Southack,  who  had  brought  the  mes 
sage,  hesitated  to  deliver  this  answer,  as  they  thought  we 
ought  heartily  to  welcome  Stillman's  interest  in  our  corpo 
ration,  and  when  they  put  the  proposition  to  Mr.  Still 
man,  he  asked  them,  in  his  mystifying  manner,  whether 
this  was  an  ultimatum.  They  hesitated  to  admit  it.  They 


62  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

were  really  afraid  of  him,  and  he  was  simply  tantalizing 
them  about  his  acceptance,  which  he  finally  gave  them. 
He  was  allotted  only  200  shares,  and  within  a  year  he 
sent  for  me  and  in  his  peculiar  teasing  way  told  me  that 
he  was  dissatisfied  with  his  connection  with  the  company. 
When  I  asked  him  why,  he  said  that  he  had  not  a  sufficiently 
large  interest.  I  had  to  coax  Olcott  to  sell  300  of  his 
1,000  shares  for  as  much  as  he  had  paid  for  his  entire 
1,000.  I  doubt  if  I  could  have  persuaded  him  to  sell  to 
any  one  else.  It  was  simply,  as  he  put  it,  that  he  wanted 
the  satisfaction  of  making  "that  smart  neighbour  of  his" 
— as  he  often  called  Stillman,  their  offices  in  adjoining 
buildings — "put  him  on  velvet  in  this  transaction." 

I  shall  tell  later  on  how,  several  times,  I  had  to  go  on 
bended  knees  to  have  some  of  these  men  accept  what 
seemed  to  me  tremendous  profits. 

I  was  now  ready  to  proceed  to  business,  as  president  of 
the  Central  Realty,  Bond  &  Trust  Company. 


CHAPTER  V 

FINANCE 

I  HAD  suddenly  been  catapulted  from  my  compara 
tively  unknown  law  office  into  the  very  midst  of  high 
finance.  I  was  president  of  a  board  of  directors  in 
which  but  a  few  weeks  ago  I  should  have  rejoiced  to  have 
been  the  junior  member.  My  associates  were  all  leaders 
in  their  various  pursuits,  and  gloried  in  the  power  and 
wealth  that  they  had  accumulated  while  struggling  to 
reach  these  eminent  positions. 

At  first  I  was  but  a  silent  observer  amongst  a  lot  of 
gladiators.  Here  was  a  set  of  dominators  watching  a 
newcomer  who  also  had  dared  to  try  to  reach  the  top,  and 
had  the  good  sense  to  court  their  cooperation.  To  most 
of  them  real  estate  was  a  closed  book.  They  had  looked 
upon  it  as  what  might  be  called  a  frozen  commodity,  while 
they  had  dealt  in  liquid  assets.  They  were  anxious  to  see 
whether  this  novice  could  capitalize  real  estate  equities. 
Stories  of  the  successes  that  I  had  had  in  real  estate  had 
been  told  and  exaggerated  until,  even  to  these  big  money 
makers,  they  seemed  attractive.  Each  one  prided  himself 
that  his  joining  the  other  eminent  leaders  in  this  enter 
prise  increased  its  chances  of  success.  The  fact  that  the 
stock  was  selling  at  double  its  issue  price  within  three 
months  showed  that  the  public  was  ready  to  discount  the 
possibilities.  They  bought  me  on  my  past  performances. 
To  them  I  was  just  a  new  machine  which  must  demon 
strate  its  capacity.  I  simply  had  to  make  good,  or  be  dis 
placed. 

My  position  as  president  of  this  company  involved 


64  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

me  in  a  series  of  financial  encounters  with  the  biggest  men 
in  Wall  Street,  encounters  that  are  worth  describing  be 
cause  they  illustrate  the  methods  by  which  the  great  for 
tunes  of  the  greatest  period  of  expansion  in  American 
finance  were  made.  I  have  not  heard  of  any  man  who 
had  intimate  business  relations  with  the  financial  giants  of 
that  period,  who  has  described,  from  his  own  experience, 
the  intrigues  and  passions,  the  personalities  and  methods, 
of  those  men  who  dominated  the  financial  structure  of 
America.  My  experiences  with  them  were  not  connected 
with  their  biggest  deals,  but  they  were  thoroughly  repre 
sentative  of  all  their  operations — and,  as  such,  I  feel  they 
are  of  historical  interest  and  especially  so  as  they  are  ex 
ceptional  revelations  of  a  type  of  exceptional  men  whose 
business  activities  have  influenced  the  great  development 
of  American  Commerce.  I  might  almost  entitle  this 
chapter:  "How  Big  Financial  Deals  Are  Made."  It  is 
a  very  human  story — full,  I  mean,  of  human  nature,  with 
its  foibles  of  ambition,  jealousy,  hatred,  pride,  and  cun 
ning. 

When,  as  president  of  my  Board  of  Directors,  I  sat  at 
the  head  of  the  table  at  our  meetings,  and  looked  down 
either  side  of  the  table,  my  eyes  fell  upon  at  least  half  a 
dozen  of  the  greatest  financial  giants  of  the  day — men 
who,  as  heads  of  enormous  and  often  clashing  interests, 
represented  nearly  every  element  in  the  epic  struggle  for 
the  financial  supremacy  of  America — that  savage  strug 
gle  which  the  public  at  large  sensed  but  vaguely,  and 
which  it  saw  clearly  only  at  the  great  moments  of  climax, 
as  when  the  veil  was  lifted  by  the  famous  life  insurance 
investigation,  and  later  by  the  Pujo  investigation.  About 
this  board  were  six  representative  financiers.  These  men 
were  as  diverse  in  their  appearance  and  character  and 
their  methods  as  the  interests  they  personified.  The  battle 
between  the  banks  on  the  one  hand  and  the  trust  com- 


FINANCE  65 

panics  on  the  other,  was  represented  by  James  Stillman 
and  Frederic  P.  Olcott.  Stillman,  as  became  the  cham 
pion  of  the  older  type  of  institutions,  the  banks,  was  a  per 
fect  example  of  the  well-built  man  of  the  world,  sartori- 
ally  correct,  soft  spoken,  with  a  tendency  toward  cynical 
humour,  and  ,with  a  tongue  capable  of  devastating  sar 
casms,  while  Olcott,  as  became  the  representative  of  the 
more  recent  competitors  in  the  general  banking  business, 
the  trust  companies,  was  a  type  of  the  rough-and-ready, 
physically  powerful,  hard-spoken,  tumultuous  fighter. 
There  was  nothing  conciliatory  in  his  make-up.  He 
rather  enjoyed  wrangling  with  his  competitors,  and  prided 
himself  on  never  having  become  money-mad,  and  looked 
commiseratingly  on  those  who  had.  He  was  more  inter 
ested  in  this  financial  struggle  as  a  test  of  intellectual 
prowess,  but  wanted  to  remain  an  amateur  gladiator 
rather  than  to  become  a  professional  wealth  accumulator. 
Olcott 's  burly  figure,  carelessly  clad,  surmounted  by  a 
huge,  bucket-like  head,  adorned  with  unbelievably  big  and 
protruding  ears,  and  illuminated  with  eyes  that  could 
glare  terrifyingly,  was  in  striking  contrast  with  Stillman's 
smooth-buttoned  figure,  his  keen,  distinguished  face,  and 
eyes  that  menaced  by  their  subtlety  and  gleam  of  concen 
trated  will,  but  whose  whole  manner  betokened  a  meas 
ured,  studied  self-restraint. 

The  war  between  the  sugar  trust  and  the  independent 
sugar  refiners  was  represented  by  Henry  O.  Havemeyer 
and  James  N.  Jarvie.  They  never  sat  on  the  same  side 
of  the  table,  but  always  facing  each  other — Havemeyer 
big,  florid,  and  blustering — displaying  in  every  move  the 
consciousness  of  long-exercised  power,  and  resenting  that 
the  combination  of  all  the  sugar  interests  should  be  com 
pelled  to  defend  its  monopoly  which  was  threatened  by  the 
intrusion  of  a  mere  coffee  concern,  Arbuckle  Bros.,  in 
which  Jarvie  had  infused  such  a  vigorous,  aggressive 


66  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

spirit — Jarvie  who  had  no  prior  generations  of  successful 
men  to  point  to,  but  had  risen  from  the  bottom  and  was 
then  the  leading  spirit  of  his  firm — a  much  courted  man  for 
director  in  leading  corporations — a  man  who  not  only  di 
rected  the  investments  and  loaning  out  of  the  Arbuckle 
fortune,  but  was  also  a  leader  in  all  the  companies  with 
which  he  was  connected.  Possessed  of  all  the  strong  and 
best  points  of  a  real  Scotchman,  caution,  cumulativeness, 
and  stick-to-it-iveness,  he  was  like  an  eager  bull  terrier 
worrying  at  the  haunches  of  a  mastiff,  and  watching  every 
instant  for  a  chance  to  spring. 

The  rivalry  between  the  insurance  companies  was  rep 
resented  by  A.  D.  Juilliard  and  James  Hazen  Hyde. 
Juilliard,  the  distinguished  merchant,  philanthropist,  and 
patron  of  music,  personified  the  Mutual  Life  Insurance 
Company,  of  which  he  was  one  of  the  directing  spirits; 
and  young  Hyde,  the  perfumed  dandy  and  spoiled  child 
of  quickly  gotten  riches,  personified  the  Equitable  Life 
Insurance  Company  and  its  astonishing  rise  to  financial 
greatness. 

By  a  strange  irony  of  fate,  my  association  with  these 
men  was  destined  to  make  me  one  of  the  key  figures  in  the 
life  insurance  investigation  of  1905,  which  hurled  young 
Hyde  from  a  dazzling  financial  eminence  and  limitless 
possibilities  and  transferred  him  to  Paris  among  the  ex 
patriates  there,  and  which,  by  the  legislation  that  followed 
the  exposure  of  corrupt  financial  practices,  altered  the 
whole  financial  structure  of  America. 

I  shall  tell  that  story  at  its  proper  place  in  this  chapter, 
but,  first,  I  propose  to  give  the  reader  a  picture  of  the  way 
in  which  some  financial  deals  were  made  in  "Wall 
Street,"  and  the  control  of  corporations  bandied  about  by 
a  nod  of  the  head,  frequently  given  as  a  reward  for  a  per 
sonal  favour,  or  withheld  as  punishment  for  a  personal 
slight. 


FINANCE  67 

The  following  incidents  in  my  own  financial  transac 
tions  will  illustrate  this  system  which  I  by  no  means  indis 
criminately  condemn,  as  it  is  an  essential  requirement  of 
the  broader  development  of  the  commerce  of  the  United 
States,  but  which,  unfortunately,  has  again  and  again  been 
shamefully  abused,  so  that  the  reputation  of  the  deserving 
had  suffered  almost  as  much  as  that  of  the  evil  doers. 

In  1901  we  bought  some  property  from  a  client  of  D. 
B.  Ogden,  the  vice-president  of  the  Lawyers'  Title  Com 
pany,  who  mildly  remonstrated  with  me  by  saying : 

"You  are  one  of  the  original  subscribers  to  the  Law 
yers'  Title  Company,  yet  you  do  all  your  business  with  the 
Title  Guarantee  &  Trust  Company.  Why  not  witlj  us?" 

I  said: 

"In  all  our  large  transactions,  we  have  to  borrow  money 
on  mortgages;  we  do  not  want  to  wait  until  you  offer 
them  around  and  try  and  place  them.  The  other  com 
pany  with  their  enormous  resources  and  backing  gave  us 
a  prompt  answer.  If  you  want  to  enter  this  very  profit 
able  field  of  large  loans,  let  me  double  your  capital  of 
$1,000,000  and  also  secure  for  you  similar  backing  to  that 
possessed  by  your  competitor.  Though  your  stock  is  sell 
ing  below  book  value,  I  am  willing  to  take  the  extra  issue 
at  book  value,  and  place  it  with  interests  that  will  give  you 
a  credit  of  $5,000,000  and  thus  enable  you  promptly  to 
handle  the  biggest  transactions,  which  are  now  monopo 
lized  by  the  Title  Guarantee  &  Trust  Company." 

Within  an  hour  Edwin  W.  Coggeshall,  the  president 
of  the  Lawyers'  Title  Company,  called  and  asked  me  to 
repeat  my  proposition  directly  to  him.  I  did  so,  and  he 
said  to  me:  "When  can  you  make  a  definite  binding 
offer?"  I  inquired  whether  he  wanted  my  personal,  or 
the  Company's  offer,  and  when  he  agreed  to  deal  with  me 
personally,  I  asked  him  to  wait  until  I  dictated  the  propo 
sition  in  his  presence,  and  he  did.  Two  days  later  he  in- 


68  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

formed  me  that  his  Board  of  Directors  desired  to  offer 
3,000  shares  of  the  new  stock  of  their  stockholders,  and 
could  therefore  only  sell  me  7,000  shares,  and  hence  they 
would  be  satisfied  with  a  credit  of  four  million  dollars.  I 
consented  to  this  change  and  immediately  called  on  the 
officials  of  the  Equitable  Life  Insurance  Company  and  ar 
ranged  with  Mr.  Squires,  the  chairman  of  the  Finance 
Committee,  that  they  would  buy  2,000  shares  of  the  stock, 
and  agree  to  loan  the  company  two  million  dollars  on 
mortgages.  I  suggested  that  Mr.  Thomas  N.  Jordan, 
their  comptroller,  should  act  as  one  of  the  experts  to  fix 
the  value  of  the  stock. 

I  next  called  upon  Mr.  Olcott,  who  would  not  obligate 
the  Central  Trust  Company  to  make  any  definite  loan, 
but  authorized  me  to  agree  on  behalf  of  the  Central  Realty 
Bond  &  Trust  Company  to  loan  one  million  dollars  on 
mortgages  and  to  subscribe  2,000  shares  of  the  stock. 

I  then  called  up  Mr.  James  Stillman  and  was  informed 
that  he  was  at  home  nursing  a  cold.  Within  half  an  hour 
Mr.  Stillman  telephoned  me  to  inquire  if  it  was  something 
old  or  new  that  I  wished  to  see  him  about.  When  I 
answered  "New,"  he  requested  me  to  come  to  his  house  at 
three  o'clock  that  afternoon.  I  was  dilating  upon  the 
matter  for  fully  twenty  minutes  when  I  suddenly  became 
aware  that  Stillman  had  not  asked  a  single  question,  and 
I  so  told  him,  and  asked  whether  this  was  because  he  was 
not  interested  in  the  matter.  He  answered:  "I  have  but 
one  question:  how  large  an  interest  am  I  to  have?"  I  of 
fered  him  1,500  shares  if  he  would  agree  to  loan  the  com 
pany  one  million  dollars.  He  said  that  he  would  take  the 
stock,  as  he  thoroughly  believed  in  the  Title  Insurance 
business  and  that  the  City  Bank  would  be  glad  to  make  the 
loan  to  the  Title  Company  if  the  latter  would  keep  a  bal 
ance  with  them  which  would  justify  them  in  doing  so.  So 
I  had  secured  the  required  credit  and  placed  5,500  shares 


FINANCE  69 

of  the  stock.  That  same  day  Coggeshall  and  I  closed  the 
matter.  The  1,500  remaining  shares  were  distributed 
among  some  of  our  friends  who  we  thought  could  help  the 
Lawyers'  Title  Company.  A  few  days  later  Mr.  Olcott 
sent  for  me,  and  told  me  that  my  handling  of  the  increase 
of  the  Lawyers'  Title  Company's  capital  stock  had  raised 
quite  a  tempest  amongst  the  Mutual  Life  crowd :  that  its 
president,  Richard  A.  McCurdy,  had  asked  Olcott  at  a 
directors'  meeting  of  the  Bank  of  Commerce  why  the 
Mutual  Life  had  not  been  invited  to  participate  in  this  in 
crease. 

When  Olcott  explained  to  him  that  we  had  felt  that  the 
Mutual  Life  was  so  largely  interested  in  the  Title  Guar 
antee  &  Trust  Company  that  they  would  hardly  be  of 
much  help  to  its  greatest  competitor,  while  the  Equitable 
Life  was  unattached  in  that  respect  and  would  prove  a 
good  ally.  Then  McCurdy  said:  "Well,  why  was  not  I 
personally  offered  a  few  hundred  shares,  as  I  understand 
that  you  and  Jarvie  and  Juilliard  have  received  some?" 
This  aggravated  Olcott,  and  with  a  very  emphatic  desig 
nation  of  McCurdy's  character,  he  said  to  him:  "So,  that's 
your  size?"  and  that,  of  course,  was  pouring  oil  upon  the 
flames. 

Olcott  told  me  that  McCurdy  intimated  that  he  would 
expect  Jarvie,  Juilliard  and  Coleman  to  resign  from  our 
company  unless  the  Mutual  Life  were  taken  care  of  in 
this  matter.  Olcott  strongly  advised  me  to  defy  and  fight 
them,  while  on  the  other  hand  Juilliard  and  Jarvie  told 
me  that  it  was  as  much  Mr.  Olcott's  manner  and  forcible 
language  as  my  neglect  in  taking  care  of  the  Mutual  Life 
interests  that  had  aggravated  Mr.  McCurdy.  Juilliard 
told  me  that  it  would  be  a  pity  to  break  up  our  happy  little 
family,  and  that  if  I  would  use  my  tact,  I  could  satisfac 
torily  adjust  the  matter.  Although  our  company  had  pro 
gressed  very  nicely,  in  my  opinion  it  was  hardly  strong 


70  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

enough  to  antagonize  so  important  an  interest  as  the 
Mutual  Life.  I,  therefore,  consented  to  let  Juilliard  ar 
range  an  interview  between  McCurdy  and  myself.  I  was 
ushered  into  the  well-known  throne-room  and  McCurdy 
told  me  at  great  length  of  his  connections  with  the  Title 
Guarantee  &  Trust  Company  and  that  as  the  Mutual  Life 
was  the  largest  lender  on  mortgages  and  some  of  its  best 
directors  were  on  my  board,  I  should  have  given  the  com 
pany  an  opportunity  to  participate  in  this  matter.  He  said 
that  the  company  could  have  divided  their  allegiance  and 
have  done  business  with  both  the  title  companies.  I  in 
formed  him  that  I  regretted  that  I  had  not  known  his  de 
sire  and  that  now  it  was  too  late,  but  that  I  was  arranging 
to  increase  the  capital  stock  of  the  Lawyers'  Mortgage 
Company  and  would  gladly  put  the  Mutual  Life  on  the 
same  basis  as  the  Equitable  Life.  That  did  not  seem  to 
satisfy  him.  He  wanted  to  be  interested  in  the  Lawyers' 
Title  Company.  He  was  insistent  that  he  wanted  some  of 
the  stock  of  the  Title  Company  and  rather  spurned  the 
Lawyers'  Mortgage  stock. 

Coggeshall  and  I  finally  concluded  that  we  would  try 
to  have  Mr.  Stillman  sell  some  or  all  of  his  stock  to  the 
Mutual  Life.  Stillman  absolutely  refused  to  do  so  when 
first  requested,  and  he  made  me  accept  it  as  a  personal 
favour  when  he  finally  consented  to  sell  1,000  shares  for 
which  he  had  paid  $174,000  for  $350,000  to  the  Mutual 
Life.  Stillman  thought  that  if  the  Mutual  and  Equitable 
were  going  to  fight  for  the  control  of  the  Lawyers'  Title 
Company,  as  he  put  it,  the  stock  would  go  to  $500  a  share. 
While  I  was  arguing  with  him  as  to  the  splendid  profit 
this  was,  he  said  to  me:  "Morgenthau,  you  don't  under 
stand  what  profits  we  are  in  the  habit  of  making,"  and 
told  me  that  when  the  Northern  Pacific  was  levying  a 
$15  assessment,  William  Rockefeller  and  he  had  agreed 
to  pay  the  assessment  on  all  the  stock  on  which  the  stock- 


FINANCE  71 

holders  would  default,  and  by  so  doing,  had  secured  about 
270,000  shares,  had  agreed  not  to  sell  it  until  it  showed 
them  a  profit  of  $100  a  share,  which  it  did,  and  he  said 
that  even  then  they  regretted  that  they  had  sold  it 
before  the  corner  in  Northern  Pacific  had  occurred,  be 
cause  thereby  they  lost  a  very  big  additional  profit  that 
they  might  otherwise  have  made. 

McCurdy  urged  me  to  try  and  consolidate  the  Title 
Guarantee  &  Trust  Company  and  the  Lawyers'  Title 
Company,  as  this  would  have  given  him  a  larger  interest 
in  the  new  company  than  the  Equitable  Life  possessed. 
As  the  leading  spirits  in  neither  company  were  very  keen 
about  it,  it  failed  of  accomplishment;  thereafter  we  con 
summated  the  increase  of  the  stock  of  the  Lawyers' 
Mortgage  Company  from  $300,000  to  $1,000,000.  I 
personally  agreed  to  buy  from  the  company  5,500  shares 
of  an  increase  of  7,000  shares  of  the  stock  at  $125.  The 
Equitable  Life  interests  received  1,500,  and  1,000  shares 
went  to  the  Mutual  Life  interests.  It  was  the  distribu 
tion  of  these  shares  and  the  method  in  which  they  were 
finally  purchased  by  the  respective  companies  that  were 
material  factors  in  the  condemnation  of  Messrs.  McCurdy 
and  Hyde  by  the  Armstrong  Committee,  but  our  com 
pany  made  excellent  connections  with  both  the  Lawyers' 
Title  and  the  Lawyers'  Mortgage  companies,  and  made 
very  substantial  profits  in  later  on  disposing  of  the  stock. 

After  these  two  connections  had  been  made,  Grant  and 
I  felt  that  to  complete  our  circle  we  would  also  require  a 
construction  company. 

The  Fuller  Company  had  made  a  great  success  in  the 
West  and  was  invading  the  East.  Mayor  Grant  was 
very  much  impressed  with  the  scheme,  but  not  so  Olcott, 
Brady,  and  Crimmins,  who  had  serious  objections  to  a 
contracting  company.  Before  abandoning  the  scheme, 
however,  we  submitted  it  to  Mr.  James  Stillman.  He 


72  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

listened  attentively,  and  then  told  us  that  if  we  adhered 
to  it,  notwithstanding  the  opposition  of  Olcott,  Brady,  and 
Crimmins,  he  would  join  us,  with  the  distinct  condition, 
however,  that  he  was  not  to  dispose  of  any  of  the  stock,  or 
be  asked  to  interest  any  one  in  the  enterprise.  But  he 
agreed  that,  as  his  contribution  to  the  matter,  he  would 
finance  Grant  and  myself  by  loaning  us  the  full  amount 
that  was  required  at  a  very  reasonable  rate  of  interest,  and 
carry  us  for  the  life  of  the  transaction. 

A  few  days  afterward  Stillman  sent  for  me  and  asked 
me  how  much  of  the  preferred  stock  we  had  actually 
sold.  When  I  told  him  the  amount,  he  said:  "Do  not 
sell  any  more.  As  I  was  bicycling  up  Park  Avenue  yes 
terday,  I  was  constantly  thinking  of  Mr.  Black's  state 
ment,  that  New  York  had  to  be  rebuilt,  and  the  more  I 
looked  around  me,  the  more  convinced  I  became  that  he 
was  right.  We  ought  to  secure  a  substantial  share  of  the 
work  at  a  profitable  commission,"  he  said,  "and  therefore 
we  ought  not  to  sell  any  more  of  the  preferred  stock." 

We  did  not  do  so  until  about  ten  months  later  when 
Black  made  us  a  proposition  on  behalf  of  Charles  M. 
Schwab,  who  was  willing  to  exchange  U.  S.  Steel  Pre 
ferred  for  Fuller  Preferred,  on  even  terms.  Black 
strongly  recommended  it,  as  he  thought  we  might  secure 
prompter  deliveries  of  our  steel,  which  at  that  time  were 
very  slow  and  unsatisfactory,  if  Mr.  Schwab  were  in 
terested  in  our  company.  Grant  and  I  immediately  dis 
posed  of  the  2,500  shares  that  each  of  us  had  taken  and  it 
was  rather  amusing  to  have  Stillman  ask  us  in  that  know 
ing  way  of  his  whether  he  was  justified  in  concluding  from 
the  observations  he  had  made  of  the  sales  of  U.  S.  Steel 
Preferred  as  recorded  on  the  tape  that  we  had  disposed  of 
all  our  stock.  We  told  him  we  had.  A  few  days  later, 
at  a  meeting,  he  told  us  with  great  satisfaction  that  by 
letting  us  rush  ours  off  first,  he,  through  careful  selling, 


FINANCE  73 

secured  on  an  average  of  three  quarters  of  a  point  more 
than  we  had. 

Mr.  Schwab  became  a  member  of  our  board,  and  I 
had  never  before  met  any  one  who  equalled  him  in  that 
extraordinary  capacity  of  intelligently  reading  and  con 
clusively  analyzing  a  financial  statement  at  a  single  glance 
that  seemed  hasty  and  superficial. 

The  foregoing  incidents  are  samples  of  the  minor 
tactics  on  the  field  of  battle  in  the  vast  struggle  which 
was  waging  for  the  financial  control  of  America.  I  shall 
now  outline  the  major  strategy  of  that  struggle  as  it 
impressed  me  from  my  slight  contact  with  it. 

The  decade  from  1896  to  1906  was  the  period  of  the 
most  gigantic  expansion  of  business  in  all  American 
history,  and,  indeed,  in  all  the  history  of  the  world.  In 
that  decade  the  slowly  fertilized  economic  resources  of 
the  United  States  suddenly  yielded  a  bewildering  crop  of 
industries.  Vast  railroad  systems  were  projected  and 
built  into  being  with  magic  speed.  The  steel  industry 
sprang  with  mushroom-like  rapidity  into  a  business  em 
ploying  half  a  million  men,  and  yielding  the  profits  of 
a  Golconda.  The  Standard  Oil  Company  spread  its  pro 
duction  and  sales  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  In  every 
field  of  manufacture,  expanding  companies  were  brought 
together  into  great  trusts  to  unify  their  finances  and  to 
stimulate  their  production. 

All  these  swift  growths  demanded  money:  money  for 
new  plants — money  for  expansion — money  for  working 
capital.  The  cry  everywhere  was  for  money — more 
money — and  yet  more  money.  Wall  Street  was  besieged 
with  a  continual  supplication  for  capital — that  priceless 
fluid  to  water  the  bursting  fields  of  pulsing  prosperities. 
It  is  an  old  law  that  he  who  has  what  all  men  seek  may 
make  his  own  terms,  and  in  that  decade  Wall  Street  con 
trolled  the  money  of  America.  No  wonder,  then,  that  the 


74  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

financiers  of  Wall  Street  leaped  to  a  power  greater  for 
a  time  than  the  power  of  presidents  and  kings.  No 
wonder  that  heads  were  turned,  that  power  was  abused, 
that  tyranny  developed,  and  that  finally  the  nation,  sens 
ing  a  life-and-death  struggle  between  capitalism  and 
organized  government  itself,  arose  in  fear  and  anger,  and 
put  shackles  on  the  money  power  that  made  it  again  the 
servant,  and  no  longer  the  master,  of  the  people. 

Let  me  trace  briefly  how  this  magic  power  was  concen 
trated.  Under  the  old  banking  system,  before  the  passage 
of  the  Federal  Reserve  Act,  the  need  for  a  common  bank 
ing  centre  through  which  to  "clear"  inter-community  and 
inter-state  debits  and  credits,  following  upon  the  exchange 
of  goods  and  the  sale  of  crops,  led  the  "country"  banks 
all  over  the  United  States  to  maintain  in  some  New  York 
bank  a  considerable  deposit  of  their  funds,  so  that  inter 
bank  transactions  could  be  settled  expeditiously  and  with 
out  cost  by  the  simple  device  of  drawing  a  draft  against 
the  New  York  account.  The  sum  total  of  these  country 
bank  deposits  in  the  metropolitan  banks  placed  in  the 
control  of  the  New  York  bankers  a  vast  reservoir  of 
liquid  capital.  What  should  have  been  done  with  this 
money  was  to  use  it  as  the  basis  for  financing  the  move 
ment  of  crops  in  the  fall  and  the  exchange  of  commodities 
during  the  rest  of  the  year.  What  frequently  was  done 
with  it  was  to  lend  it  to  New  York  financiers  for  specula 
tion  in  the  price  of  crops  and  commodities,  preventing  the 
farmers  and  country  merchants  and  small  industrials 
from  securing  money  at  the  times  they  needed  it.  Another 
use  to  which  this  reservoir  of  capital  was  put,  was  to  lend 
it  to  the  great  industrial  groups  battling  for  supremacy  in 
the  fields  of  sugar,  steel,  textiles,  railroads,  and  the  like. 

But  there  were  other  reservoirs  of  capital,  and  these, 
too,  centred  in  New  York.  The  great  insurance  com 
panies  were  like  pools  at  the  bottom  of  a  great  valley: 


FINANCE  75 

down  the  hillsides  from  all  directions  trickled  the  tiny 
streams  of  policy  holders'  premiums — each  in  itself  but  a 
few  drops  of  the  precious  fluid  but  all  together,  when  gath 
ered  in  the  pool,  a  vast  golden  shining  mass  tempting  the 
eyes  of  the  speculative  builders  of  industry.  The  insur 
ance  company  presidents,  therefore,  became,  like  the  bank 
presidents  of  New  York,  arbiters  of  financial  destiny,  be 
cause  by  their  nod  of  favour,  or  disapproval,  they  could 
grant  or  withhold  the  golden  stream  of  credit  for  which 
all  men  were  begging. 

Thus  arose  a  natural  struggle  between  the  banks  and 
the  insurance  companies  for  the  control  of  the  finances 
of  the  country.  If  the  bankers  could  control  the  insurance 
companies,  they  would  be  masters  of  the  situation.  If 
the  insurance  companies  could  control  the  banks,  then  the 
insurance  company  presidents  would  be  the  great  men. 
It  may  seem  odd  to  suggest  that  the  insurance  companies 
might  have  controlled  the  banks,  but  I  can  easily  demon 
strate  that  this  was  quite  within  the  realms  of  possibility. 
One  man  with  enough  shrewdness  and  enough  force,  and 
possessed  of  not  more  than  $100,000,000,  could  at  that 
time  actually  have  controlled  the  banking  system  of  Amer 
ica.  On  August  5,  1899,  when  I  entered  "Finance" 
with  the  organization  of  our  company,  the  capitalization 
of  all  the  banks  in  the  Clearing  House  was  only  $58,000,- 
000,  and  their  total  undivided  profits  were  77  millions — 
making  their  entire  resources  135  millions;  the  selling 
price  of  their  stocks  was  about  200  millions.  One  man 
with  a  private  fortune  of  $100,000,000,  or  McCurdy  or 
Hyde  controlling  an  insurance  company  with  assets 
greatly  in  excess  of  that  amount,  or  the  Standard  Oil 
group  might  have  been  shrewd  enough  to  have  bought  a 
majority  interest  in  all  the  important  banks  in  New  York, 
and  this  majority  interest  would  have  placed  in  his  con 
trol,  by  virtue  of  the  system  I  have  described  above,  prac- 


76  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

tically  the  entire  banking  power  of  America.  We  should 
then  have  had  a  financial  octopus  in  the  person  of  one 
man,  with  even  weirder  potentialities  of  sinister  control 
of  American  life  than  the  only  less  dangerous  small  group 
which  actually  did  dominate  the  country  financially  in 
the  early  years  of  the  present  century. 

What  actually  happened  was  that  the  banking  power, 
instead  of  being  all  in  the  hands  of  one  man,  was  held 
jointly  by  a  group  of  a  few  men  who,  although  they 
fought  incessantly  and  bitterly  among  themselves, 
nevertheless  often  united  for  common  profit.  It  may  in 
terest  the  reader  to  be  reminded  of  these  groups  and  their 
leaders. 

Towering  above  them  all  in  the  public  mind,  although 
in  fact  but  little  more  powerful  than  several  of  the  others, 
was  the  massive  figure  and  threatening  eye  of  J.  Pierpont 
Morgan.  Morgan  ruled  less  by  virtue  of  his  wealth  than 
by  the  overpowering  force  of  his  character.  Men  feared 
him,  but  they  trusted  him.  Nearly  every  enterprise  he 
financed  turned  to  gold,  and  his  leadership  became  the 
most  impressive  fact  in  American  financial  life.  A  close 
second  to  Morgan  was  James  Stillman.  Elected  presi 
dent  of  the  National  City  Bank  in  July  of  1891,  Stillman, 
then  forty-two  years  of  age,  heir  to  a  profitable  cotton 
brokerage  business  that  made  him  financially  independent, 
had  partially  retired  from  active  business  life,  and  was 
enjoying  his  cultivated  tastes  in  semi-leisure.  When 
Percy  R.  Pyne,  president  of  the  National  City  Bank,  re 
tired  from  office,  and  found  that  his  two  sons  had  no 
ambition  to  succeed  him,  he  offered  Stillman  the  presi 
dency,  and  Stillman  accepted.  The  policies  which  Still 
man  inaugurated  at  the  National  City  Bank  soon  gave 
evidence  of  that  genius  which  was  shortly  to  place  him  at 
the  very  top  of  the  financial  world.  Stillman  previsioned 
the  vast  expansion  of  American  business,  and  took  steps 


FINANCE  77 

at  once  to  share  in  the  control  of  it.  He  bought  all  the 
stock  of  his  bank  that  came  on  the  market,  and  then  he 
made  it  a  leader  in  the  financing  of  industry  by  attracting 
to  his  Board  of  Directors  the  heads  of  the  greatest  enter 
prises  in  the  country.  These  men  brought  to  his  bank 
not  only  money  for  deposit,  but  they  brought  what  the 
subtle  Stillman  prized  even  more,  and  that  was  their 
knowledge  and  their  brains.  At  his  board  meetings  Still 
man  learned,  at  first  hand,  the  inside  facts  about  every 
business  in  the  country,  and  this  priceless  information 
gave  him  the  key  to  all  the  mysteries  of  financing  that  lay 
at  the  bottom  of  his  success,  and  at  these  meetings  Still 
man  had  for  the  asking  the  advice  and  counsel  of  the 
shrewdest  business  men  in  the  land.  He  once  confided 
to  me  that  by  this  simple  device  of  putting  these  men  on 
his  directorate  he  had  secured  their  services  at  the  absurd 
price  of  about  $400  a  year  apiece.  As  he  expressed  it: 
"These  men  attend  a  board  meeting  once  a  week,  and 
receive  $10  for  their  attendance,  and  for  that  price  I  am 
free  to  pick  their  brains." 

Stillman  was  allied  with  the  Rockefeller  family  by  the 
marriage  of  his  two  daughters  to  the  two  sons  of  William 
Rockefeller,  and  through  this  alliance  gained  all  the 
direct  and  indirect  advantages  of  a  favoured  position 
with  the  Standard  Oil  Company  and  its  measures. 

Another  group  in  the  financial  oligarchy  was  Kuhn, 
Loeb  &  Company,  originally  clothing  manufacturers  in 
Cincinnati,  then  note-brokers  and  finally  bankers.  Their 
great  feat  was  taking  over  from  the  U.  S.  Government 
Receivers  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  and  reorganizing  it. 
They  then  made  their  famous  alliance  with  E.  H.  Harri- 
man  and  established  themselves  in  the  first  rank  of  Ameri 
can  financiers,  through  the  success  of  this  joint  financing 
of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad,  one  of  the  most  profitable 
of  all  the  feats  of  financial  legerdemain  ever  accomplished. 


78  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

The  trust  companies  entered  the  ranks  of  the  financial 
oligarchs  by  virtue  of  a  peculiar  provision  of  the  banking 
laws  which  permitted  them  to  accept  deposits  and  grant 
the  checking  privilege  against  them  which  was  enjoyed 
by  the  banks  without  being  required  to  maintain  the  cash 
reserve  against  deposits  which  was  exacted  of  the  banks. 
By  paying  interest  on  daily  balances  they  attracted  the 
best — the  non-borrowing  accounts. 

Under  this  anomaly  of  the  law,  the  trust  companies 
rose  rapidly  to  financial  eminence.  Their  progress  was 
bitterly  contested  by  the  banks,  but  under  the  leadership 
of  Frederic  P.  Olcott,  the  trust  companies  became  so 
powerful  that  they  were  taken  into  the  oligarchy  before 
the  laws  were  finally  revised,  placing  them  on  a  parity 
with  the  banks.  Olcott,  as  president  of  the  Central  Trust 
Company,  had  a  hand  in  nearly  every  one  of  the  reorgan 
izations  of  the  railroads,  a  process  through  which  almost 
every  railroad  in  the  country  was  carried  during  the  period 
from  1878  to  1890.  This  experience  had  made  Olcott  an 
expert  in  every  detail  of  railroad  finance,  and  his  rugged 
honesty,  his  utter  fearlessness,  his  profane  disregard  of  any 
man's  importance,  no  matter  how  much  it  might  have 
awed  others,  had  placed  him  at  the  front  as  a  power  to  be 
reckoned  with  under  all  conditions. 

So  much  for  the  bankers.  The  insurance  companies 
were  the  other  great  powers  in  the  financial  oligarchy. 
Hyde  of  the  Equitable,  McCurdy  of  the  Mutual,  McCall 
of  the  New  York  Life — each  of  these  men  controlled  the 
lending  of  hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars  of  money  taken 
in  as  premiums.  Before  the  eyes  of  each  was  laid  the 
dazzling  opportunity  of  using  this  power  to  further  spec 
ulative  financing  of  industry  with  the  prospect  of  enor 
mous  profits.  Some  succumbed  to  these  temptations,  and 
used  some  of  this  money,  which  was  entrusted  to  them  for 
the  most  sacred  of  all  financial  purposes — the  payments 


FINANCE  79 

of  death  benefits  to  the  families  of  policy  holders — as  if 
they  had  been  their  own  funds  to  be  risked  in  private  spec 
ulation. 

The  case  of  Hyde  is  doubly  appropriate  for  mention 
here,  because  he  was  a  representative  sinner  in  these  cor 
rupt  practices,  and  because  it  was  my  fate  to  cross  destinies 
at  three  critical  moments  in  the  life  of  his  son  and  heir, 
and  to  be,  at  one  of  these  crises,  the  Nemesis  for  his 
undoing. 

Henry  B.  Hyde  had  organized  the  Equitable  Life 
Insurance  Company  years  before  as  a  private  stock  com 
pany,  capitalized  at  $100,000,  of  which  he  retained  owner 
ship  of  slightly  more  than  $50,000  worth  of  the  stock. 
The  Equitable  had  prospered  until  it  was  one  of  the  five 
great  insurance  companies.  Its  assets  had  risen  to  over 
$500,000,000,  its  surplus  to  an  enormous  sum.  It  was  a 
moot  question  as  to  whether  the  stockholders  or  the  policy 
holders  owned  the  surplus.  Though  the  stock  was  re 
stricted  to  a  7  per  cent,  dividend,  nevertheless  its  price 
had  risen  to  $3,000  a  share,  which  showed  the  value  that 
experts  placed  upon  opportunities  for  profit — whether 
legitimate  or  otherwise — that  accrued  to  the  possessor  of 
the  majority  of  the  stock — and  the  control  of  the  com 
pany.  The  insurance  investigation  conducted  by  Mr. 
Hughes  showed  the  various  methods  by  which  the  men 
in  control  of  this  and  other  insurance  companies  had 
abused  this  power  and  had  personally  enriched  themselves. 

When  Henry  B.  Hyde  died,  he  left  to  his  son,  James 
Hazen  Hyde,  his  controlling  interest  in  the  Equitable. 
It  would  be  hard  to  over-state  the  dazzling  opportunity 
that  now  lay  within  reach  of  this  boy  of  24.  If  fate  had 
given  him  the  vision  of  Stillman,  or  the  wisdom  and  over 
mastering  will  of  Morgan,  or  the  rugged  force  of  Olcott, 
young  Hyde  might  easily  have  become  dictator  of  financial 
America.  The  method  of  quick  profits  from  the  use  of 


80  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

other  people's  money  had  been  demonstrated  for  him  by 
his  father,  and  young  Hyde  himself  was  clever  enough  to 
perceive  the  opening  that  lay  in  acquiring  control  of  the 
majority  stock  in  banks  and  trust  companies.  He  had 
the  vision  which  I  have  described  above,  of  the  possibility 
of  controlling  the  banking  system  of  America  by  the  use 
of  one  single  fortune. 

Destiny,  however,  had  another  fate  in  store.  Fortune 
had  indeed  given  Hyde  the  means  and  the  vision  to  attain 
preeminence.  But  her  hand  withheld  one  essential  gift 
— the  gift  of  character.  Reared  to  the  unrestrained  en 
joyment  of  pleasure,  Hyde  had  never  been  disciplined, 
and  so  had  never  had  occasion  to  learn  those  amenities 
which,  even  in  the  most  powerful  characters,  temper  the 
masterful  assertion  of  authority.  With  the  pettish  temper 
of  a  child,  Hyde  could  not  brook  opposition ;  his  theory  of 
action  was  the  crude  one  of  "rule  or  ruin."  Where  tact 
would  have  propitiated  an  antagonist,  he  tried  giving 
orders.  In  rapid  succession,  he  antagonized  the  most 
powerful  men  in  America — men  who  had  earned  their 
spurs  on  the  field  of  financial  battle  before  he  was  born, 
and  who  were  not  of  a  temper  to  brook  the  insolence  of 
a  youngster  merely  because  he  had  inherited  a  fortune. 
Their  deep  resentment  long  boiled  below  the  surface,  and 
it  was  only  when  Hyde  tried  to  wrest  from  the  presidency 
and  transfer  to  the  vice-presidency,  which  he  was  then 
occupying,  the  main  executive  powers  of  the  company 
that  the  opposition  to  him  became  organized.  President 
Alexander  retained  Bainbridge  Colby,  who  was  then  in 
partnership  with  his  son,  and  also  Frank  Platt.  The 
latter  by  using  the  agents  of  the  United  States  Express 
Company,  of  which  his  father  was  president,  secured  the 
proxies  of  over  90,000  policy  holders.  They  then  tried  to 
secure  prominent  and  trusted  men  who  would  act  as  a 
committee  for  the  policy  holders  to  force  an  investigation 


FINANCE  81 

of  the  management  of  the  company.  This  task  they  found 
more  difficult.  Several  times  they  thought  they  had  their 
committee  completed  when  Hyde  and  his  associates  ex 
erted  such  pressure  that  these  men  withdrew  their  consent 
to  serve.  Finally,  a  group  of  them  put  this  situation  up 
to  me.  They  pointed  out  that  I  owed  a  duty  to  the  public 
'to  clear  up  this  lamentable  misuse  of  the  public's  funds. 

I  debated  long  whether  I  had  a  right  to  do  this  service. 
For  myself,  personally,  I  had  no  fear  of  Hyde,  but  as 
president  of  a  trust  company,  I  had  the  interests  of  my 
stockholders  and  depositors  to  consider.  To  resolve  my 
perplexities,  I  brought  the  matter  up  at  a  board  meeting. 
I  wanted  to  accept,  but  I  felt  it  my  duty  to  explain 
the  situation  to  my  directors,  and  I  told  them  that  if  they 
felt  I  was  jeopardizing  their  interests,  I  would  resign 
from  the  Trust  Company,  and  serve  on  the  committee. 
Olcott  resolved  the  question.  With  characteristic  honesty 
and  force,  he  said:  "If  you  feel  that  way,  stay  and  serve, 
and  let  whoever  deserves,  be  hurt." 

I  informed  the  attorneys  of  the  committee  of  my  in 
clination,  but  told  them  I  would  not  serve  until  they  had 
submitted  to  me  the  evidence  they  possessed.  It  was  an 
interesting  evening  that  Frank  Platt  and  Bainbridge 
Colby  spent  in  my  library.  They  brought  a  satchel  full 
of  documents,  and  in  a  short  time  convinced  me  that  their 
case  against  Hyde  was  complete.  They  were  very  anxious 
to  have  me  pledge  myself  to  stay  to  the  end,  which  was  to 
be  the  displacement  of  Hyde,  and  I  exacted  from  them  a 
similar  promise,  so  that  we  came  to  an  understanding  that 
this  was  to  be  a  fight  to  the  finish. 

With  the  Dreyfus  trial  fresh  in  my  mind,  I  urged  Colby 
that  he  should  be  the  man  who  would  Americanize  the 
"J'accuse"  and  charge  Hyde  with  these  various  malfeas 
ances  against  the  policy  holders. 

A  few  days  later,  Mr.  Stillman  called  and  told  me  that 


82  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

he  wanted  to  warn  me  to  be  very  cautious  in  my  activ 
ities  of  this  policy  holders'  committee;  that  public  opinion 
was  so  excited  and  might  easily  be  fanned  to  fever  heat  if 
the  conditions  in  the  Equitable  were  published;  and  that 
the  people  might  demand  investigations  of  all  financial 
institutions,  and  thereby  create  a  panic.  He  also  asked 
me  to  discuss  the  matter  with  Mr.  E.  H.  Harriman.  I 
had  no  objection  to  doing  so,  and  a  conference  was  ar 
ranged.  Harriman  asked  me  what  the  committee  wanted, 
and  I  told  him  that  although  Hyde  owned  a  majority  of 
the  stock,  the  assets  belonged  to  the  policy  holders;  and 
that  they  had  enough  accusations  which  would  condemn 
him  before  any  court;  and  that  the  committee  demanded 
the  removal  of  Hyde  and  control  of  the  executive  com 
mittee  which  controlled  the  company.  I  told  him  that  it 
would  be  much  better  for  them  to  make  terms  with  us, 
who  were  reasonable  men,  than  to  try  to  persuade  any 
of  our  committee  to  compromise,  because  the  proxies 
we  had  would  be  taken  from  us  and  given  to  people  who 
would  see  that  justice  would  be  done.  He  saw  the  force 
of  my  argument  and  suggested  my  meeting  Mr.  Elihu 
Root.  We  met  the  next  day  and  went  over  the  whole 
situation.  Mr.  Root  laid  great  stress  on  the  fact  that 
it  was  unheard  of  to  displace  a  man  owning  the  majority 
of  the  stock  of  a  company.  On  behalf  of  the  policy  holders, 
I  told  Mr.  Root  that  we  were  going  to  arouse  public 
opinion  against  the  impropriety  of  having  the  funds  of 
widows  and  orphans  subjected  to  the  whims  and  fancies  of 
a  quasi-irresponsible  young  man,  and  I  also  referred  to  the 
grave  danger  that  the  whole  financial  fabric  was  being 
exposed  to  by  permitting  the  vast  power  that  went  with 
the  control  of  the  Equitable  and  its  subsidiary  companies, 
to  pass  by  inheritance,  and  not  by  election. 

It  finally  was  arranged  that  no  one  was  to  be  placed  on 
the  executive  committee  who  was  personally  objectionable 


FINANCE  83 

to  Hyde.  The  new  directors  were  not  to  represent  any 
faction,  but  all  the  policy  holders.  Thus  we  got  control 
of  the  board  and  the  policy  holders  were  allowed  to  elect 
a  majority  of  the  executive  committee  and  Mr.  Hyde's 
control  was  wrested  from  him. 

Thus,  my  action  in  standing  fast  with  the  committee  of 
Equitable  policy  holders,  demanding  their  rights,  was  an 
essential  prelude  to  the  famous  life  insurance  investiga 
tion  of  1905.  The  success  of  that  investigation,  once  it 
got  under  way,  is,  of  course,  to  the  eternal  credit  of 
Charles  Evans  Hughes.  His  masterly  grasp  of  the  in 
tricacies  of  the  whole  situation;  his  extraordinarily  logical 
mind  which  enabled  him  to  bring  out  the  testimony  in 
such  a  way  as  to  build  up  an  overwhelming  and  complete 
sense  of  the  right  and  wrong  of  the  matter,  made  his 
conduct  of  this  investigation  one  of  the  most  brilliant 
performances  in  the  history  of  American  law,  and  placed 
Mr.  Hughes  in  the  front  rank  of  public  servants.  My 
own  testimony  at  the  investigation  was  useful  in  estab 
lishing  confirmatory  evidence  of  the  corrupt  manner  in 
which  life  insurance  moneys  were  used,  as  evidenced  in  the 
purchase,  by  Mr.  McCurdy,  of  stock  in  other  companies 
with  policy  holders'  money,  but  to  the  personal  profit  of 
the  officers  of  the  Mutual  instead  of  to  the  Mutual  itself. 
The  outcome  of  the  whole  investigation  is,  of  course, 
familiar  to  the  public.  It  resulted  in  the  enactment  of 
laws  which  made  these  corrupt  practices  impossible,  and 
thereby  took  the  insurance  company  funds  out  of  the 
speculative  and  promoting  fields  of  American  finance. 

The  other  needed  reform — to  clip  the  power  of  the 
New  York  bankers  to  control  the  credit  resources  of  the 
country — was  delayed  until,  under  the  compulsion  of 
Woodrow  Wilson's  leadership,  the  Federal  Reserve  Act 
was  passed,  and  the  power  of  Wall  Street  over  credit  for 
ever  crushed.  That  Act  democratized  credit,  and  made 


84  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

it  impossible  for  any  man,  or  group  of  men,  to  concentrate 
and  control  it. 

Young  Hyde  was  shorn  of  his  glory.  He  was  com 
pelled  to  sell  his  majority  of  ownership  in  the  Equitable 
for  two  and  one  half  million  dollars — whereas  but  a  few 
years  before  I  had  been  authorized  by  James  Stillman  to 
offer  him  ten  million  dollars  for  the  control  of  the  Equit 
able  and  its  connections — and  to  remove  himself  from  all 
authority  in  its  affairs,  and  from  all  influence  upon  finance 
in  general.  He  retired  to  that  luxurious  obscurity  which 
was  his  natural  level.  Disgusted  with  America,  which 
did  not  "appreciate"  him,  he  returned  to  France  where 
he  had  already  spent  several  years,  and  there  devoted  him 
self  to  a  life  of  pleasure  and  of  mild  intellectual  avocations. 

I  did  not  see  him  again  until  1917  when  the  United 
States  had  entered  the  World  War,  and  I  was  visiting 
Paris.  This  third  encounter  with  young  Hyde  had  in 
it  the  dramatic  elements  of  a  Greek  comedy.  Later  in 
this  book,  I  describe  how  I  made  Hyde  vice-president 
of  the  Metropolitan  Opera  Company,  and  facilitated  his 
ambition  to  become  a  social  leader  in  New  York. 
Unappreciative  of  this  service  I  had  rendered  him,  and 
eager  for  yet  greater  social  opportunities,  Hyde  had 
not  been  content  to  await  the  natural  termination  of 
my  directorship,  and  had  had  the  impudence  to  ask  me 
to  resign  in  favour  of  one  of  his  friends.  I  had  indig 
nantly  refused  this  preposterous  request,  and  served  out 
my  term  of  office.  In  the  insurance  investigation  there 
had  been,  therefore,  a  certain  element  of  poetic  justice 
in  my  being  the  instrument  in  the  hand  of  destiny  to 
give  the  little  essential  fillip  to  the  events  that  caused 
his  headlong  fall  from  financial  eminence.  Our  meet 
ing  in  Paris  in  1917  supplied  the  final  touch  of  classic 
irony.  There,  Hyde,  out  of  touch  with  his  native  land, 
somewhat  chastened  by  contemplation  of  his  abrupt  fall 


FINANCE  85 

from  financial  heights,  found  himself  almost  a  man  with 
out  a  country  in  the  midst  of  the  World  War,  unable  to 
gratify  his  ambition  to  be  always  in  style — and  now  the 
style  was  to  be  in  the  military  uniform  of  one's  country. 

I  visited  France  soon  after  the  entrance  of  America 
into  that  conflict,  and  during  a  brief  interval  of  rest  at 
Aix-les-Bains,  I  chanced  upon  John  G.  A.  Leishmann 
and  his  vivacious  daughter,  who  was  Hyde's  wife.  She 
had  heard  of  my  political  association  with  President 
Wilson,  but  evidently  she  had  forgotten,  or  was  unaware 
of,  my  part  in  the  financial  downfall  of  her  husband.  She 
confided  to  me  young  Hyde's  and  her  own  unhappiness 
that  he  had  no  active  part  in  the  service  of  his  country, 
and  begged  me  to  use  my  influence  to  obtain  for  him  some 
position  in  the  American  service  where  he  could  do  his 
bit.  I  promised  to  do  what  I  could. 

Upon  my  return  to  Paris,  young  Hyde  himself  called 
upon  me  with  words  of  warm  appreciation,  both  that  I 
had  been  willing  to  overlook  our  late  unpleasantness,  and 
that  I  had  not  mentioned  its  existence  to  his  wife.  He 
was  anxious  to  serve,  and  almost  pathetically  eager  to  con 
vince  me  that  he  could  serve.  He  had  been  refused  a 
position  on  General  Pershing's  staff,  and  wanted  me  to 
secure  for  him  a  commission  from  the  American  Red 
Cross.  He  declared  that  he  could  obtain  for  me  or  others 
an  immediate  audience  from  any  person  in  the  French 
Government,  no  matter  how  exalted,  and  pointed  out  that 
by  virtue  of  this  capacity  he  could  be  of  indispensable 
service.  He  wished  me  to  name  any  French  official  whom 
I  cared  to  meet.  I  said  I  should  like  very  much  to  meet 
M.  Painleve  informally,  and  Hyde  thereupon,  hardly 
waiting  to  bid  me  good-bye,  hastened  away  to  make  the 
appointment.  He  easily  made  good  his  boast,  so  that  two 
days  later  I  had  dinner  at  Hyde's  house,  and  had  a  most 
interesting  conversation  with  Painleve.  I  was  so  im- 


86  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

pressed  with  Hyde's  earnestness  and  with  the  possibilities 
of  usefulness  that  lay  in  his  remarkable  affiliations  with 
the  best  French  society,  that  I  did  intercede  for  him  with 
Major  Murphy  and  Major  Perkins,  the  heads  of  the  Red 
Cross,  and  prevailed  upon  them  to  make  him  a  uniformed 
officer.  He  was  attached  to  the  Paris  headquarters  of 
our  Red  Cross  work  in  France,  and,  I  was  afterward 
told,  rendered  very  useful  service. 

As  I  stated  at  the  beginning  of  this  chapter,  the  object 
of  the  formation  of  the  Central  Realty  Bond  &  Trust 
Company  was  to  provide  an  accumulation  of  capital  for 
the  purpose  of  dealing  in  real  estate  on  a  large  scale.  I 
shall  describe  a  few  of  the  company's  transactions  to  illus 
trate  how  the  corporate  form  of  operation  gave  wider 
scope  than  was  possible  to  an  individual  operator.  One 
of  our  first  transactions  illustrates  this  very  point. 

While  looking  for  temporary  quarters  to  house  the  com 
pany,  Mr.  Frederick  M.  Hilton,  the  present  head  of 
William  A.  White  &  Sons,  offered  me  the  space  in  Boreel 
Building  that  had  just  been  vacated  by  the  German 
American  Fire  Insurance  Company.  Mr.  Hilton  told 
me  that  the  Boreel  heirs  were  receiving  a  return  of  less 
than  3  per  cent,  on  the  tax  value  of  their  property, 
and  were  facing  a  substantial  diminution  of  even  this 
small  income  now  that  these  insurance  offices  had  been 
thrown  upon  their  hands.  I  said  to  him:  "Why  not  in 
quire  whether  these  heirs  will  sell  the  property  for 
$2,000,000?"  He  was  amazed  when  he  found  that  out  of 
an  expected  rental  of  $15,000  a  year  there  might  evolve  a 
sale  of  the  entire  property.  I  immediately  communicated 
this  fact  to  Grant  who  authorized  me  to  purchase  the  prop 
erty  without  consulting  the  Executive  Committee,  and 
said  that  both  Olcott  and  he  would  each  take  one  third  and 
I  could  take  one  third,  if  the  Executive  Committee  failed 
to  ratify  it.  We  secured  the  property  for  $2,050,000.  Mr. 


FINANCE  87 

Prescott  Hall  Butler  represented  the  heirs  in  this  trans 
action  and  when  I  handed  him  the  check  for  $50,000, 
which  was  paid  on  account  of  the  contract,  he  told  me  that 
he  intended  to  deposit  it  with  a  trust  company  until  the 
deal  was  completed.  I  said  why  not  with  us,  which  he 
agreed  to  do,  so  that  we  thus  owned  the  property  without 
having  parted  with  the  possession  of  a  single  dollar.  The 
fact  that  we  were  both  a  real  estate  operating  company 
and  a  trust  company  enabled  us  to  repeat  this  kind  of 
operation  frequently. 

When  Mr.  Black  of  the  Fuller  Construction  Company 
heard  of  our  purchase,  he  immediately  bought  our  con 
tract,  and  gave  us  a  profit  of  10  per  cent.,  so  that  we 
secured  temporary  quarters  and  made  $205,000  without 
losing  the  use  of  any  of  our  funds. 

Other  large  transactions  followed  in  rapid  succession. 
Among  the  most  interesting  of  these  was  the  collecting 
of  the  plots  that  constitute  the  present  site  of  the  Broad 
Exchange  Building,  directly  opposite  the  Stock  Ex 
change;  the  purchase  of  the  Knox  Building  at  the  corner 
of  Fortieth  Street  and  Fifth  Avenue;  and  my  joining  in 
the  purchase  of  the  Plaza  Hotel,  by  means  of  a  brief 
telephone  conversation,  for  $3,000,000. 

In  1904,  as  the  Subway  neared  completion,  I  was  aston 
ished  to  find  that  there  had  been  no  activity  in  real  estate 
in  anticipation  of  the  benefits  that  would  accrue  from  the 
increased  transportation  facilities  in  the  upper  part  of 
New  York  and  the  Bronx.  I  therefore  enlisted  the  as 
sistance  of  my  nephew,  Robert  E.  Simon,  and  of  J.  Clar 
ence  Davies,  and  organized  what  was  dubbed  by  some 
of  the  real  estate  operators  the  "Subway  Boom."  On 
behalf  of  the  company  and  some  associates,  we  purchased 
all  the  big  plots  that  abutted  the  various  transit  lines,  and 
could  be  secured  at  reasonable  prices.  In  a  period  of 
ninety  days  we  purchased  in  the  Bronx,  in  the  Dyckman 


88  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

district,  in  Washington  Heights,  and  Fort  George,  about 
2,500  lots  which  were  eventually  sold  for  $9,000,000. 

In  1905,  when  I  realized  that  a  cessation  of  prosperity 
and  the  necessary  declining  market  that  would  follow 
was  imminent,  I  called  on  Mr.  Olcott  and  asked  him 
whether  our  young  company  could  rely  upon  the  assist 
ance  of  the  Central  Trust  Company,  with  whom  we  kept 
our  largest  account;  he  told  me  that  if  a  panic  such  as  I 
feared  should  come  everybody  would  have  to  look  out 
for  himself;  that  if  my  accounts  and  securities  would 
justify  his  making  a  loan  at  6  per  cent,  he  would  do  so, 
but  as  far  as  his  depositing  with  our  company  a  few 
million  dollars,  as  I  had  suggested,  he  would  not  consider 
it.  I  went  right  next  door  to  Mr.  Stillman,  and  asked  him 
a  similar  question,  first  telling  him  the  attitude  Mr.  Olcott 
had  taken.  Mr.  Stillman  said  I  was  but  one  of  the  many 
customers  of  his  bank ;  his  holdings  in  my  company  were 
relatively  small ;  that  the  new,  unseasoned  financial  institu 
tions  would  be  the  first  to  suffer  in  case  the  public  com 
menced  to  doubt  the  stability  of  the  financial  institutions. 
"Although  it  is  known  that  you  have  a  splendid  board  of 
directors,  and  have  the  good  will  of  some  of  the  big  inter 
ests  like  the  Mutual  Life  and  the  Central  Trust  Company, 
and  my  institution  also,  still  it  is  well  known  that  none  of 
us  control  your  institution  and  are,  therefore,  not  re 
sponsible  for  it.  You  do  not  belong  to  any  one,  but  I  am 
willing  to  see  you  through,  no  matter  what  happens." 

During  the  interview,  I  almost  felt  that  the  Stillman 
collar  was  slipping  around  my  neck  and  shook  myself  to 
see  if  I  was  free,  and  I  made  up  my  mind  that  rather  than 
wear  any  one's  collar,  I  would  go  out  of  business.  I  de 
liberated  at  some  length  for  some  days,  and  then  had  a 
long  conference  with  Mr.  Grant  who,  for  the  first  time 
since  our  close  connection,  was  really  annoyed  at  the  stand 
I  took.  He  felt  that  our  company  was  destined  to 


FINANCE  89 

become  one  of  the  important  independent  financial  insti 
tutions  downtown  and  that  my  fears  of  a  catastrophe 
were  exaggerated  and  that  we  should  risk  it,  playing  the 
game  to  the  finish.  When  I  explained  to  him  that  I  had 
no  desire  to  quit  personally,  but  to  dispose  of  the  company 
as  a  whole,  either  by  consolidation  or  liquidation,  he  co 
operated  with  me  faithfully,  as  heretofore. 

We  merged  the  company  into  the  Lawyers'  Title  In 
surance  Company  at  a  price  which  enabled  us  to  pay  our 
stockholders  $550  in  cash  and  one  half  share  of  Lawyers' 
Title  Stock  for  every  share  they  owned  in  our  company. 

I  personally  purchased  from  the  company  all  the  real 
estate  that  it  then  owned. 

Having  thus  returned  to  the  real  estate  business,  only 
on  a  much  larger  scale  than  I  had  ever  operated  before, 
I  took  my  nephew,  Robert  E.  Simon,  into  partnership, 
and  formed  the  Henry  Morgenthau  Company.  This 
company  then  developed  all  the  properties  I  had  left  in 
the  Bronx,  and  built  and  financed  housings  for  thousands 
of  people  in  that  section,  and  also  on  Washington  Heights, 
and  in  Fort  George  at  One  Hundred  and  Ninetieth 
Street  and  St.  Nicholas  Avenue. 

My  venture  into  the  trust  company  field  led  me  ulti 
mately  into  an  interest  in  a  kind  of  business  I  had  never 
before  studied.  One  day  my  friend,  Mr.  Charles  Strauss, 
who  had  influenced  many  of  his  clients  and  friends 
to  open  accounts  with  the  Trust  Company,  came  to  my 
office  and  asked  me  whether  we  would  make  a  loan  to 
one  of  his  clients  who,  he  declared,  was  ready  to  put  up  as 
collateral  some  of  the  original  Standard  Oil  Company 
stock.  I  told  him  unhesitatingly  that  we  would  do  so. 

He  said:  "Now,  Henry,  don't  speak  so  fast.  Before 
you  definitely  commit  yourself,  I  understand  trust  com 
panies  are  not  making  loans  on  an  exclusively  industrial 
collateral."  I  told  him  that  I  knew  how  my  board  felt 


90  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

about  Standard  Oil  which  was  then  selling  at  about  $180 
a  share,  and  to  convince  him  that  I  was  authorized  I  told 
him  that  if  his  friend  had  any  doubts,  I  would  make  him 
a  time  loan  of  six  months.  Mr.  Strauss  brought  in  Mr. 
John  T.  Underwood,  the  president  of  the  Underwood 
Typewriter  Company. 

Strauss  told  me  at  the  time  that  this  transaction  might 
lead  to  other  business.  A  few  years  afterward,  Strauss 
came  to  see  me  and  told  me  that  Underwood  required  ad 
ditional  money  to  proceed  with  his  enterprise.  He  then 
told  me  how  Underwood  had  come  to  this  country  from 
England  to  represent  his  father's  business — the  John 
Underwood  Company,  manufacturers  of  inks;  how  he 
had  started  business  at  No.  30  Vesey  Street;  and  how, 
shortly  after  typewriters  had  been  introduced,  had  manu 
factured  supplies  for  them,  carbon  paper,  ribbons,  etc., 
and  built  up  a  large  and  profitable  business.  His  trans 
actions  were  very  largely  with  the  then  existing  type 
writer  companies,  the  Remington  and  Smith  Premier. 
Shortly  after  the  Union  Typewriter  Company  had  been 
started,  these  people  notified  Underwood  that  they  would 
themselves  go  into  the  typewriter  supply  business.  This 
induced  Underwood  to  go  into  the  typewriter  business  and 
to  manufacture  the  first  visible  typewriter. 

In  1901,  when  they  came  to  me,  he  had  invested  in  the 
enterprise  about  $950,000,  and  as  he  wanted  to  buy  a  new 
factory  in  Hartford,  and  increase  his  facilities,  he  wanted 
to  secure  an  additional  capital  of  $500,000  and  that  was 
the  proposition  that  Strauss  had  suggested  to  me.  We 
discussed  the  matter,  and  I  proposed  that  he  rearrange 
his  capitalization;  sell  $500,000  of  6  per  cent.  First  Pre 
ferred  stock;  have  issued  to  himself,  Strauss,  and  others 
who  had  advanced  the  $950,000,  Second  Preferred  of 
$1,000,000;  and  that  he  issue  $2,000,000  Common  stock, 
of  which  he  could  give  the  First  Preferred  stockholders 


FINANCE  91 

$500,000.  Messrs.  Hugh  J.  Grant  and  James  N. 
Jarvie  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Trust  Company 
subsequently  joined  me  in  the  deliberations,  and  in  the 
course  thereof  Mr.  Underwood  told  us  that  the  Trust 
had  offered  him  $2,000,000  for  his  proposition.  Jarvie 
said  to  him:  "You  are  a  bachelor,  you  have  no  under 
study.  You  have  no  one  dependent  upon  you.  Your 
enterprise  is  a  one-man  enterprise,  and  much  as  I  would 
like  to  go  into  this  matter  with  you,  I  strongly  recommend 
that  you  sell  to  the  Trust." 

Jarvie  talked  so  convincingly  that  Underwood  again 
opened  negotiations  with  the  Trust.  They  renewed  their 
offer,  but  insisted  upon  making  their  payments  in  install 
ments,  which,  when  analyzed,  practically  meant  that  they 
would  pay  Underwood  largely,  if  not  entirely,  out  of  his 
own  profits.  Underwood  and  Strauss  rebelled  at  that 
and  determined  to  continue  their  enterprise. 

It  was  then  February,  1903,  and  the  panic  of  that  year 
was  imminent,  and  Grant  and  Jarvie  declined  to  go  into 
anything  new.  It  rather  discouraged  me,  but  I  took  a 
small  subscription  of  the  First  Preferred  stock,  more  out 
of  compliment  to  Strauss  and  Underwood  than  for  the 
sake  of  investment.  Strauss  made  a  proposition  to  me, 
saying  that  they  desired  to  have  me  on  the  Board  of  Direc 
tors,  and  if  I  would  agree  to  serve  for  five  years,  they 
would  give  me  $30,000  of  Common  stock  for  nothing.  I 
consented  to  do  so  upon  one  condition,  that  all  meetings 
would  have  to  be  held  at  the  Trust  Company  office,  as  I 
did  not  wish  to  take  the  time  it  would  require  for  me  to 
go  up  to  their  office.  They  promptly  accepted  my  con 
dition,  as  they  said  they  had  no  meeting  room  and,  in 
fact,  they  considered  this,  instead  of  being  a  condition,  an 
accommodation.  I  attended  the  directors'  meetings  pretty 
regularly  until  1909,  when  at  one  of  the  meetings  I 
was  very  much  gratified  to  see  that  during  the  current 


92  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

month,  the  Company  had  earned  more  than  the  $90,000, 
their  fixed  charges  on  the  First  and  Second  Preferred 
stock  for  the  entire  year.  I  invited  Underwood  and 
Strauss  to  lunch  with  me,  and  I  then  told  them  that  I  had 
been  a  director  now  for  six  years,  and  the  time  had  arrived 
when  I  could  be  useful  in  creating  a  market  for  the  stock, 
which  was  not  being  dealt  in  at  all.  I  asked  them  whether 
they  would  be  willing  to  sell  me  one  half  of  their  holdings, 
and  I  would  undertake  to  popularize  the  stock.  Mr. 
Underwood  gave  me  an  option  in  November,  1909,  to  pur 
chase  from  him  40  per  cent,  of  the  Common  stock.  He 
gave  this  option  without  any  payment  down.  I  invited  Mr. 
Jacob  Wertheim  to  join  me  and  when  I  gave  him  all  the 
facts  that  I  had  learned  while  acting  as  director  for  years 
— he  found  them  so  convincing  that  he  waived  making  an 
investigation  and  proposed  that  we  confine  the  matter 
entirely  to  ourselves — he  offered  to  finance  the  operation 
to  any  extent  that  I  was  unable  to  do.  I  accepted  this  on 
condition  that  he  would  give  his  son  Maurice,  who  had 
married  my  daughter  Alma,  an  interest  in  his  half.  He 
consented  and  I  gave  my  son  an  interest  in  my  share.  After 
we  had  made  this  arrangement,  we  decided  that  it  would 
be  better  for  Underwood  and  the  other  stockholders  of 
the  enterprise  that,  instead  of  creating  a  market  for  the 
then  existing  shares,  we  should  create  a  new  issue  of 
$5,000,000  of  Preferred  stock,  dispose  of  it  to  the  public, 
and  with  the  proceeds  redeem  the  First  and  Second  Pre 
ferred,  and  also  the  outstanding  Common  stock,  pay  off 
the  notes  then  outstanding,  and  have  enough  cash  left 
to  more  than  double  the  facilities  of  the  Company  at 
Hartford.  When  I  made  the  suggestion  to  Underwood, 
he  said  he  would  not  entertain  it  until  I  had  consum 
mated  my  option.  We  did  this  promptly,  and  then  re 
financed  the  Company.  It  was  one  of  the  first  compan 
ies,  if  not  the  very  first,  that  sold  its  Preferred  stock  to 


FINANCE  93 

the  bankers  without  giving  them,  or  their  purchasers, 
any  of  the  Common  stock  as  a  bonus.  My  experience 
as  president  of  the  Central  Realty  Trust  Company  had 
taught  me  that  this  could  be  done,  and  I  insisted  upon 
trying  it,  so  that  when  we  finished  with  the  entire  opera 
tion,  Wertheim  and  I  and  our  sons  were  owners  of  very 
substantial  amounts  of  the  Common  stock  at  a  very  mod 
erate  price.  Underwood  and  Strauss  and  the  other  Pre 
ferred  and  Common  stockholders  of  the  Company  were 
all,  and  still  are,  pleased  with  the  refinancing,  as  every 
body  concerned  was  benefitted  by  the  operation. 

In  the  meantime,  the  Underwood  Company  has  com 
pletely  outstripped  all  the  other  companies,  and  Under 
wood  has  had  the  satisfaction  of  metamorphosing  from  the 
discharged  purveyor  of  supplies  to  the  Remington  and 
other  typewriter  companies,  into  the  unquestioned,  out 
standing  leader  of  the  typewriter  business,  and  he  is  still 
the  same  modest,  energetic,  tireless  executive  that  he  was 
in  1903.  It  has  been  no  small  satisfaction  for  all  of  us 
to  see  the  steady,  healthy  growth  of  this  infant  into  the 
magnificent  giant  that  it  is  to-day,  and  some  of  the  credit 
is  due  to  our  most  efficient  superintendent,  Mr.  Charles  D. 
Rice. 

In  1919,  when  the  Underwood  commenced  to  manufac 
ture  the  portable  machines,  I  asked  Mr.  Underwood  to 
give  me  No.  1,  so  that  I  could  present  it  to  President 
Wilson,  as  I  was  about  to  go  to  Europe,  and  expected  to 
see  him  in  Paris.  I  sent  it  to  the  President,  and  a  few 
days  thereafter  I  met  Miss  Benham,  Mrs.  Wilson's  secre 
tary,  and  she  told  me  that  unintentionally  I  had  almost 
caused  a  little  quarrel  between  the  Presidential  couple, 
and  when  I  inquired  how,  she  told  me  that  Mrs.  Wilson 
had  annexed  the  Underwood  machine  over  the  President's 
protest. 


CHAPTER  VI 

SOCIAL  SEEVICE 

DURING  all  these  years  of  which  I  have  been 
writing  my  spirit  was  in  a  never-ceasing  conflict 
with  itself,  a  conflict  between  idealism  and  ma 
terialism.  My  boyish  imagination  had  been  fired  with  a 
vision  of  a  life  of  unselfish  devotion  to  the  welfare  of 
others,  and  in  an  earlier  chapter  I  have  described  the 
influence  of  religious  and  ethical  teachings  upon  my 
character  and  activities.  But  the  necessity  of  earning  a 
livelihood  had  early  thrust  me  into  the  arena  of  business. 
Once  there,  I  became  absorbed  in  money-making.  It  was 
a  fascinating  game.  It  challenged  all  my  powers  of 
brain  and  will  to  hold  my  own  and  forge  ahead  in  the 
fierce  competition  of  my  fellows.  I  lived  business,  ate 
business,  dreamed  business.  There  came  a  time  when 
the  most  interesting  lectures,  the  finest  theatrical  per 
formances,  or  even  the  best  staged  operas  could  not  hold 
my  entire  attention.  My  schemes  constantly  intruded 
themselves  upon  my  consciousness  and  would  absorb  the 
mentality  that  was  required  for  me  to  understand  and 
rejoice  with  what  was  going  on.  As  usual,  as  with  all 
other  business  men,  the  day's  work  had  practically  ab 
sorbed  my  day's  supply  of  vitality.  I  had  not  the  power 
to  shake  off  this  exacting  task-master. 

But,  though  business  could  conquer  pleasure,  it  could 
not  conquer  idealism;  and  idealism  resorted  to  similar 
tactics  as  business.  It  asserted  itself  during  business 
hours,  and  again  and  again  demanded  opportunities  to 

94 


SOCIAL  SERVICE  95 

exercise  itself.  I  shall  now  try  to  tell  how  it  successfully 
resisted  complete  annihilation. 

When,  in  1876,  Felix  Adler  returned  from  his  studies 
as  a  rabbi  in  Europe,  and  Temple  Emanu-El — the  most 
important  Jewish  congregation  in  the  United  States — 
was  ready  to  welcome  him  to  its  pulpit,  he  found  that  it 
would  not  coincide  with  his  views  to  follow  in  the  foot 
steps  of  his  father,  who  had  been  connected  with  that 
synagogue  for  forty  years.  The  son's  researches  had  led 
him  to  the  conclusion  that  forms,  ceremonies,  and  customs 
did  not  make  a  religion  when  pursued  in  new  and  entirely 
different  surroundings.  Dr.  Adler  hoped  that  the  time 
had  come  when  the  real  spiritual  essentials  of  the  Jewish 
religion — its  system  of  ethics — could  be  developed,  ap 
preciated,  and  enforced,  and  that  the  American  Jews  could 
adjust  themselves  to  the  land  in  which  they  were  living 
and  drop  all  that  they  had  had  to  adhere  to  in  Ghettoized 
Europe.  He  came  back  filled  with  an  enthusiastic  desire 
to  remedy  the  glaring  evils,  not  only  of  the  Jews,  but  of 
the  entire  community:  he  could  diagnose  our  ills  and  pre 
scribe  a  remedy. 

This  appeal  found  a  wonderful  response  amongst  the 
flower  of  the  reformed  Jews  and  some  Christians  of  New 
York,  who  formed  the  Society  for  Ethical  Culture,  of 
which  the  then  leading  Jew  of  America,  Joseph  Seligman, 
was  elected  president.  All  these  felt  the  need  of  re 
adjustment  to  fit  their  new  surroundings.  Some  of  those 
religious  habits  were  imposed  upon  them  while  their  an 
cestors  were  suppressed  people.  Few,  if  any,  would 
adopt  Christianity,  but  all  were  ready  to  subscribe  to  the 
aims  of  a  society  which  are  most  clearly  stated  in  their 
present  invitation  to  members: 

Our  Society  is  distinctly  a  religious  body,  interpreting  the  word 
"religion"  to  mean  fervent  devotion  to  the  highest  moral  ends.  But 


96  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

toward  religion  as  a  confession  of  faith  in  things  superhuman,  the 
attitude  of  our  Society  is  neutral.  Neither  acceptance  nor  denial  of 
any  theological  doctrine  disqualifies  for  membership. 


In  short,  the  Jews  in  America  very  seriously  wanted 
to  complete  their  Americanization.  They  were  honestly 
striving  for  education,  for  refinement,  for  community  and 
public  service,  for  devotion  to  art,  music,  and  culture. 
Welcome,  then,  this  prophet  Adler — this  great  reformer! 
His  sterling  qualities  as  a  thinker;  his  wonderful  resource 
fulness;  his  pure  and  lofty  private  life,  and  his  totally 
uncompromising  attitude  toward  evil,  secured  him  the 
admiration  of  all  those  who  had  in  their  own  modest  way 
been  hopelessly  striving  to  reach  this  plane.  Adler  by  in 
heritance  and  by  studying  the  older  prophets  had  mingled 
that  knowledge  with  the  wisdom  of  the  present  day. 
Here  was  pure  ethics  unencumbered  by  religious  form, 
the  way  Emerson  taught  it,  the  way  Garrison  and  Lincoln 
practised  it — and  this  man  was  trying  to  direct  this 
current,  which  led  away  from  the  old-fashioned  religion 
into  a  new  field  tending  toward  agnosticism  and  atheism, 
and  bring  it,  instead,  into  this  new  field  of  ethics.  His 
sincerity  could  not  be  doubted.  He  had  voluntarily 
abandoned  an  honourable  and  care-free  career  that  had 
been  offered  him  by  Temple  Emanu-El,  and  like  a  modern 
Moses  had  undertaken  the  harassing  and  difficult  task  of 
satisfying  the  unexpressed  yearnings  of  these  people,  who 
were  discontented  with  the  existing  requirements  of  their 
religion  and  had  hopelessly  sought  for  moral  guidance. 

I  was  among  Adler's  earliest  adherents.  When  he  or 
ganized  his  United  Relief  Work,  I  was  one  of  its  directors ; 
I  participated  in  his  Cherry  Street  experiment  in  model 
tenements — the  first  in  America,  which  eventually  brought 
about  legislation  to  do  away  with  the  dark  rooms  of 
which  there  were  over  fifty  thousand  in  New  York  City 


SOCIAL  SERVICE  97 

alone,  and  I  assisted  in  the  establishment  of  the  first 
Ethical  Culture  School,  which  was  started  in  Fifty-fourth 
Street,  near  Sixth  Avenue,  and  was  chairman  of  the  Site 
Committee  that  secured  the  present  location  on  Central 
Park  West  from  Sixty-third  to  Sixty- fourth  streets. 

Above  all,  however,  I  treasure  the  fond  remembrance 
of  having  been  a  member  of  the  "Union  for  Higher  Life" 
— an  organization  of  a  few  of  Adler's  devotees.  He 
always  maintained  that,  as  every  man  expected  purity 
from  his  wife,  it  was  his  duty  to  enter  the  marriage 
state  in  the  same  condition,  and  the  members  of  this 
"Union"  pledged  themselves  to  celibacy  during  bachelor 
hood.  We  met  every  week  at  the  Sherwood  Studio, 
where  he  then  lived.  We  read  Lange's  "Arbeiter- 
Frage,"  and  studied  the  Labour  question.  We  discussed 
the  problems  of  business  and  professional  men.  I  notice 
in  my  diary  of  April  24,  '82,  that  we  debated  the  sim 
plicity  of  dress  and  the  follies  of  extravagance.  Then, 
as  Dr.  Adler  wanted  us  to  feel  that  we  were  doing  some 
thing  definitely  altruistic,  the  members  of  the  Union 
jointly  adopted  eight  children;  some  of  them  were 
half-orphans,  and  some  had  parents  who  could  not  support 
them  properly ;  we  employed  a  matron  and  hired  a  flat  for 
her  on  the  corner  of  Forty-fifth  Street  and  Eighth 
Avenue. 

We  had  considered  starting  a  cooperative  community 
for  ourselves,  and  Adler  and  I  devoted  some  time  looking 
at  various  properties.  Our  intention  was  to  have  separate 
living  quarters  with  a  joint  kindergarten  and  a  joint 
kitchen,  thereby  avoiding  duplication  of  menial  labour. 
This  would  have  enabled  our  wives  to  devote  more  of  their 
time  to  community  work.  It  was  to  be  an  urban  Brook 
Farm.  Already  having  big  ideas  about  real  estate,  I 
suggested  and  investigated  the  Leake  and  Watts  Orphan 
Asylum  property,  now  occupied  by  the  Cathedral  of  St. 


98  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

John  the  Divine!  It  could  then  have  been  bought  for 
about  $3,000  a  lot.  Adler,  however,  considered  it  too 
inaccessible,  as  it  could  only  be  reached  by  the  Eighth 
Avenue  street  car,  and  so  the  idea  was  abandoned. 

As  many  of  my  close  friends  were  not  adherents  of 
Professor  Adler,  and  we  wanted  to  share  our  intellectual 
developments  and  efforts,  we  organized  the  Emerson  So 
ciety;  and  under  the  guidance  of  my  brother  Julius  who 
had  just  received  his  degree  of  Doctor  of  Philosophy  at 
Leipzig,  we  not  only  read,  but  thoroughly  studied,  a 
number  of  Emerson's  essays.  I  was  chagrined  to  find 
that  not  only  the  college-bred  men  of  our  group,  but  also 
many  of  the  girls  were  much  better  English  scholars  than 
I,  so  I  determined  to  secure  lessons  from  the  best  author 
ity  on  English  at  that  time.  Richard  Grant  White,  the 
annotator  of  Shakespeare  and  the  author  of  "Words  and 
their  Uses,"  was  universally  recognized  as  such,  but  I  was 
told  by  people  whom  I  consulted  that  it  was  useless  to 
communicate  with  him  as  he  undoubtedly  would  feel  him 
self  above  giving  private  lessons.  Nevertheless  I  wrote 
him  for  an  interview,  stating  my  age,  vocation,  and  desire, 
and  he  answered: 

"It  is  possible  that  I  may  be  able  to  give  you  the  assist 
ance  you  seek  in  your  praiseworthy  plan.  I  will  see  you 
with  pleasure." 

The  interview  was  successful.  Mr.  White  undertook 
to  give  us  lessons  in  the  origin  and  growth  of  language, 
nor  shall  I  ever  forget  the  delight  of  that  instruction.  We 
used  to  meet  in  his  apartment  on  Stuyvesant  Square,  the 
home  of  an  artist  and  scholar,  and  his  talks  on  the  develop 
ment  of  tongues  from  the  Aryan  to  our  modern  English — 
his  readings  from  the  classics  in  that  beautiful,  cultivated 
voice  of  his  with  its  perfect  enunciation — are  still  fresh  in 
my  memory. 

Two  of  my  friends  had  joined  me  and  when  I  was  no 


SOCIAL  SERVICE  99 

longer  contented  to  meet  Josephine  Sykes  merely  as  a 
member  of  the  Emerson  Club,  and  therefore  persuaded 
her  to  start  a  little  club  of  our  own,  she  joined  the 
class. 

Shortly  after  the  death  of  Maurice  Grau  in  1902,  my 
wife  and  I,  calling  on  Mrs.  Josephine  Bonne,  found  the 
Conrieds  there,  and  Conried  told  us  that  he  was  looking 
for  fourteen  men  whom  he  could  get  to  join  him  in  sub 
scribing  the  $150,000  required  to  secure  the  lease  and 
management  of  the  Metropolitan  Opera  House,  and  as 
I  was  one  that  Mrs.  Bonne  had  suggested,  he,  with  great 
earnestness,  backed  up  by  his  fine  dramatic  talent,  pleaded 
his  cause.  He  told  us  of  his  histrionic  training  in  the 
Burg  Theatre  at  Vienna,  and  how  his  youthful  ardour 
for  the  stage  was  permanently  influenced  by  the  high 
artistic  ideals  prevailing  there. 

"When  I  came  to  America,"  he  said,  "I  hoped  the 
prosperous  Germans  and  Jews  would  endow  a  similar 
institution  here,  and  so  I  started  the  Irving  Place  Theatre. 
What  has  happened?  Instead  of  receiving  the  support  I 
expected,  I  have  had  to  resort  to  all  kinds  of  devices.  I 
have  become  a  play  broker,  secured  the  American  rights 
to  current  European  productions,  demonstrating  their 
possibilities  to  the  American  managers,  and  selling  them 
when  I  could,  so  that  the  Irving  Place  Theatre  has  really 
become  only  a  laboratory  or  testing  room.  It  has  never 
paid  for  itself,  and  I  have  had  to  supplement  my  brokerage 
profits  by  securing  Herr  Ballin's  help  in  founding  the 
Ocean  Comfort  Company  which  rents  steamer  chairs  to 
transatlantic  travellers!  Have  I  put  my  small  profits 
in  my  own  pocket?  No,  I  have  poured  them  back  into 
the  Irving  Place  Theatre,  still  hoping  to  attract  the  sup 
port  which  would  give  me  a  chance  to  demonstrate  my 
ideals.  Here  is  a  short-cut,  here  is  a  chance  for  me  to 
realize  all  these  ideals  without  having  to  risk  my  own  or 


100  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

my  friends'  money.  At  last  my  opportunity  has  come, 
and  I  ask  you  to  help  me  secure  this  lease." 

I  doubt  if  he  ever  played  any  role  more  earnestly  or 
with  greater  sincerity.  Nobody  could  have  resisted  him, 
and  I  gracefully  surrendered  and  asked  him: 

"What  progress  have  you  made?  What  men  have  you 
secured?" 

He  answered:  "Jacob  H.  Schiff,  Ernest  Thalman, 
Daniel  Guggenheim,  Randolph  Guggenheimer,  and 
Henry  R.  Ickelheimer."  All  of  these  men  were  of  the 
highest  class,  thoroughly  cultured,  and  lovers  of  music, 
but  knowing  as  I  did  the  management  of  the  Metro 
politan  Opera  House,  I  jokingly  said  to  Conried: 

"If  you  could  only  secure  a  Mr.  Hochheimer  and  a  Mr. 
Niersteiner  you  would  have  a  complete  wine  list,  but  you 
could  never  secure  the  opera  house  through  it." 

He  saw  the  point  at  once,  and  asked  what  I  would 
suggest.  I  answered  him: 

"I  have  conceived  a  plan  while  sitting  here,  but  to 
carry  it  out  I  must  have  an  absolutely  free  hand  as  to 
who  are  to  be  your  associates.  I  shall  see  Messrs.  A.  D. 
Juilliard  and  George  G.  Haven,  who  have  the  final  say 
in  the  matter,  on  Tuesday,  and  can  tell  you  that  evening 
whether  I  can  accomplish  anything  or  not." 

Conried  assented.  I  at  once  proceeded  to  carry  out  my 
plan  to  interest  the  younger  social  leaders  and  communi 
cated  with  Mr.  James  Hazen  Hyde.  He  was  most  fa 
vourably  impressed,  and  suggested  that  he  and  I  obli 
gate  ourselves  for  $75,000  each,  secure  the  lease,  and  then 
select  our  associates.  We  did  so,  obtained  the  lease,  and 
then  invited  the  following  to  make  up  the  Board  of 
Directors  of  the  Conried  Metropolitan  Opera  Company: 
Alfred  G.  Vanderbilt,  Henry  Rogers  Winthrop,  H.  P. 
Whitney,  Robert  Goelet,  R.  H.  McCurdy,  Jacob  H. 
Schiff,  Clarence  H.  Mackay,  George  J.  Gould,  Otto  H. 


SOCIAL  SERVICE  101 

Kahn,  J.  Henry  Smith,  Eliot  Gregory,  Bairibridge  Colby, 
and  William  H.  Mclntyre.  Heinrich  Conried  was  elected 
president  and  Hyde  and  myself  vice-presidents.  Suc 
cess  was  assured  from  the  first.  Conried  took  hold  of 
the  management  with  energy  and  wonderful  resourceful 
ness  that  promptly  won  him  the  admiration  of  the  direc 
tors  of  both  companies. 

He  completely  changed  the  interior  of  the  Opera  House, 
put  in  a  new  ceiling,  new  chandelier,  arranged  the  proper 
illumination  of  the  boxes,  and  the  most  important  im 
provement  of  all  being  the  discarding  of  the  old-fashioned 
drop  curtain  and  replacing  it  with  one  divided  in  the 
centre,  making  it  unnecessary  for  the  popular  stars,  when 
answering  repeated  curtain-calls,  to  walk  all  the  way 
across  the  stage  from  one  side  to  the  other  of  the  pro 
scenium  arch.  He  unsuccessfully  fought  the  demand 
of  the  boxholders  for  the  famous  horseshoe  to  be  kept 
illuminated  all  through  the  performance,  and  finally  com 
promised  by  putting  red  shades  over  the  lights. 

One  week-end  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Conried  spent  with  us 
at  Elberon.  They  came  heavily  laden.  Mrs.  Conried 
cautiously  carried  a  circular  bundle  of  discs,  and  her 
husband  bore  what  looked  like  a  monster  cornucopia,  while 
their  son  was  bending  under  the  weight  of  a  big  box.  A 
very  few  minutes  after  they  had  entered  the  house  we 
were  spellbound  by  "Elisir  d'Amore,"  sung  by  the  finest 
tenor  voice.  We  and  our  children  all  rushed  out  to  the 
room  from  whence  the  singing  came.  We  waited  until 
it  was  finished  and  rivalled  each  other  with  our  applause. 
Conried,  the  impresario,  foreseeing  in  our  unlimited  ap 
plause  the  success  of  his  future  tenor,  benignly  smiled 
and  explained  to  us : 

"This  is  the  great  Caruso — a  man  that  is  in  Buenos 
Aires  just  now.  Grau  engaged  him,  and  it  was  these 
records  that  induced  me  to  assume  the  contract." 


102  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

^     #  *     *  *     ' 

Conriecf  startled  us  once  more  during  that  same  week 
end  by  confiding  to  us  that  he  possessed  the  complete  score 
of  "Parsifal."  He  said: 

"I  shall  produce  it  this  winter." 

We  were  amazed  at  this  proposition,  particularly  my 
wife, who  reminded  Conried  that  when  she  was  at  Bayreuth 
she  was  informed  that  both  Richard  Wagner  and  his 
widow  had  steadfastly  withstood  all  propositions  to  pro 
duce  "Parsifal" — the  chief  attraction  of  its  musical  festi 
vals — on  any  other  stage.  I  feared  that  many  Wagner- 
ians  would  condemn  the  production  as  a  sacrilege. 

Conried  waived  aside  the  objections  and  said: 

"Years  ago  I  told  Frau  Casimir  Wagner  that  some  day 
I  would  produce  'Parsifal'  in  America.  She  ridiculed  me. 
Here's  my  chance.  I  will  win  the  approbation  of  thou 
sands  who  have  been  yearning  to  hear  this  opera  and  who 
will  never  get  to  Bayreuth." 

From  that  day  on,  he  kept  me  informed  of  his  progress. 
We  were  together  in  Vienna  when  he  chose  the  costumes 
for  the  "flower-maidens";  I  visited  with  him  the  studio 
where  the  revolving  curtain  was  being  painted;  in  Amer 
ica,  my  wife  and  I  attended  many  of  the  rehearsals. 

His  real  troubles  began  as  he  approached  the  day  of 
production.  The  composer's  widow  tried  to  enjoin  him 
from  making  the  production;  for  fear  of  offending  her, 
Mottl  refused  to  conduct  the  orchestra;  unlimited  abuse 
was  showered  on  the  producer  through  the  press;  certain 
clergymen  denounced  the  opera  as  blasphemous;  some 
singers  revolted;  and,  to  cap  the  climax,  there  came  a 
warning  that  the  Society  for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to 
Children  would  stop  the  appearance  of  the  boys  who  were 
to  sing  in  the  choruses. 

Conried's  patience  and  optimism  were  inexhaustible. 
He  met  every  rebuff  squarely  and  surmounted  every  bar 
rier.  He  won  in  the  courts.  The  press  attacks  and  the 


SOCIAL  SERVICE  103 

pulpit  onslaughts  only  furnished  publicity;  he  found 
other  singers  to  take  the  place  of  the  rebels,  and  so,  as  the 
event  proved,  in  conferring  the  leadership  of  the  orchestra 
on  Hertz,  he  opened  a  brilliant  career  for  an  excellent 
conductor  until  then  little  known  in  America.  As  for 
the  public  response,  the  demand  for  seats  was  unpar 
alleled,  even  in  Metropolitan  history:  the  directors  were 
all  besieged  by  applications,  and  I  alone  made  over  a  hun 
dred  people  happy  by  securing  seats  for  them. 

Nevertheless,  on  the  eve  of  the  first  production  every 
thing  within  the  Opera  House  seemed  in  utter  chaos.  We 
were  there  until  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  and  beheld  a 
never-to-be-forgotten  sight.  The  famous  Munich  stage 
manager  Lautenschlager,  imported  for  this  special  per 
formance,  was  then  still  rehearsing  raising  and  lowering 
the  drops  for  Kundry's  big  scene,  and  supernumeraries 
were  scurrying  about  answering  the  conflicting  demands 
of  their  directors;  weary  stage  carpenters  and  "hands" 
were  lying  in  the  wings  snatching  such  minutes  of  sleep  as 
were  possible,  while  high  up  in  the  stage  lofts  were  stowed 
away  the  chorus  boys  to  keep  them  out  of  the  clutches  of 
the  S.P.C.C.  To  the  onlooker,  professional  or  amateur — 
to  everybody  except  the  confident  Conried — there  seemed 
nothing  but  disaster  ahead.  The  brilliant  success  that 
evolved  is  too  much  a  matter  of  operatic  history  to  require 
recounting  here. 

Conried  had  always  drawn  unsparingly  on  his  reserves 
of  energy  and  resistance,  and  there  came  at  last  a  moment 
when  those  reserves  were  exhausted.  An  unpleasant 
episode,  involving  not  himself,  but  one  of  his  company, 
enlisted  all  his  efforts.  At  its  conclusion,  he  was  met  with 
a  piece  of  bad  news:  Dr.  Holbrook  Curtis  told  him  that 
he  feared  that  a  growth  which  had  just  appeared  in  the 
throat  of  Caruso  would  prevent  this,  now  his  particular 
star,  from  singing  during  the  coming  season  and  might 


104  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

end  his  career  altogether.  Conried  went  from  the  doctor's 
office  to  the  Opera  House  to  watch  an  important,  long- 
drawn-out  rehearsal.  Shortly  thereafter  he  had  a  break 
down  from  which  he  never  recovered. 

When  he  died,  his  widow  and  son  requested  me  to  ar 
range  the  funeral,  and  readily  adopted  my  suggestion 
that  as  Heinrich  Conried's  greatest  success  had  been  won 
in  the  Metropolitan  Opera  House,  so  his  obsequies  should 
be  held  there  as  Anton  Seidl's  had  been  ten  years  before. 
I  knew  that  Conried  had  not  been  connected  with  any 
synagogue,  but  I  asked  whether  he  had  mentioned  a  pref 
erence. 

"None,"  said  his  son. 

Being  president  of  the  Free  Synagogue,  I  requested 
Rabbi  Wise  to  officiate.  I  communicated  with  the  direc 
tors  of  the  Conried  Opera  Company,  who  consented  to 
the  plan,  and  every  branch  of  the  organization  from  the 
orchestra  to  the  scene-shifters  volunteered  to  help. 

It  was  an  event  which  none  who  witnessed  it  will  ever 
forget.  The  proscenium  arch  was  hung  with  black,  and 
the  "set"  was  the  mediaeval  interior  used  in  the  third  act 
of  "Lucia."  In  the  centre  was  the  great  catafalque,  its 
outlines  almost  obscured  by  masses  of  flowers — lilies, 
roses,  orchids,  literally  by  tens  of  thousands — flanked  by 
two  Hebrew  candelabra,  surmounted  by  the  bust  of  the 
impresario  that  had  been  presented  to  him,  during  his 
illness,  by  the  members  of  the  company. 

Promptly  at  eleven  the  Metropolitan  Orchestra  be 
gan  the  funeral  march  from  Beethoven's  "Eroica,"  and, 
carried  by  six  skull-capped  bearers,  the  coffin,  entirely 
covered  by  a  pall  of  violets,  was  placed  upon  the  stage. 
Mme.  Homer  and  Riccardo  Martin  and  Robert  Blass 
sang  Handel's  "Largo";  the  choir-boys  from  Calvary 
Church  who  had  appeared  in  the  first  American  produc 
tion  of  "Parsifal"  intoned  a  setting  of  Tennyson's  "Cross- 


SOCIAL  SERVICE  105 

ing  the  Bar";  Dr.  Wise  and  Professor  William  H. 
Carpenter,  of  Columbia,  spoke  of  the  dead  man's  work, 
and  then,  with  the  notes  of  the  Chopin  funeral-march 
sobbing  through  the  Opera  House — attended  by  music- 
lovers,  judges,  artists,  financiers,  leaders  in  almost  every 
walk  of  life,  there  was  taken  from  the  scene  of  his  greatest 
work  the  body  of  the  weaver-boy  of  Bielitz. 

These  memories  have  taken  me  somewhat  far  afield  and 
consumed  much  of  the  space  that  I  had  intended  to  devote, 
in  this  chapter,  to  my  own  activities.  I  should  like  to 
tell  of  my  service  as  director  of  the  Educational  Alliance, 
the  consolidation  of  a  dozen  activities  for  the  benefit  of 
children — and  particularly  the  Jewish  children — of  that 
Lower  East  Side  neighbourhood;  and,  too,  of  my  work  on 
the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Mt.  Sinai  Hospital,  the 
institution  which  my  father  helped  so  many  years  before ; 
and  of  my  interest  in  the  Henry  Street  Settlement  so  ably 
developed  by  my  friend  Lillian  Wald,  my  connection  with 
which  eventually  led  Mrs.  Morgenthau  and  me  to  estab 
lish  the  Bronx  House.  Mrs.  Morgenthau  once  taught  in 
the  Louis'  Downtown  Sabbath  School  at  267  Henry  Street, 
and  right  next  door  to  it  Miss  Lillian  D.  Wald  and  Miss 
MacDowell,  the  daughter  of  General  MacDowell  of  Civil 
War  fame,  had  started  an  experiment  that  was  to  grow 
into  a  vast  benefit  for  the  entire  community.  Up  to  that 
time  the  people  of  the  Lower  East  Side  who  were  unable 
to  afford  regular  medical  treatment  for  themselves  or 
their  babies  went  without  it  until  the  last  minute  and  then 
sought  the  rare  dispensaries;  for  any  other  sort  of  help, 
they  turned  to  the  district  political  bosses,  who  never 
failed  to  require  a  substantial  return  for  favours  and  who 
had  few  favours  to  dispense  to  those  who  neither  voted 
themselves  nor  controlled  the  votes  of  others.  Miss 
Wald  practically  originated  the  idea  of  the  house-to- 
house,  or  the  tenement-to-tenement,  visiting  trained 


106  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

nurse,  who  made  friends  with  the  sick  and  needy  in  their 
own  homes,  cared  for  the  ill,  showed  their  relatives  how 
to  care  for  them,  gave  practical  lessons  on  the  bringing 
up  of  children,  and  demonstrated  that  household  hygiene 
is  the  ounce  of  prevention  that  is  worth  a  pound  of  cure. 
Out  of  this  evolved  the  now  famous  Henry  Street  Settle 
ment. 

This  work  deeply  interested  me,  and  I  have  been  a  con 
stant  and  frequent  visitor  at  the  house,  and  have  sup 
ported  a  visiting  nurse  on  Miss  Wald's  staff  for  the  past 
twenty-two  years. 

Some  years  ago  Miss  Wald  unfolded  to  me  the  needs 
of  a  sister  settlement  house  in  the  Bronx,  and  urged  me  to 
assist  in  organizing  an  establishment  similar  to  hers.  At 
a  meeting  at  my  house,  which  was  attended  by  Angelo 
Patri  and  his  wife,  Simon  Hirsdansky,  and  Jacob  Shufro 
— all  three  of  the  men  being  now  principals  of  schools  in 
the  Bronx — and  Bernard  Deutsch,  and  a  few  others,  my 
wife  and  I  were  persuaded  by  their  statements  of  the  great 
good  that  a  settlement  house  could  do  in  the  Bronx,  and 
we  agreed  to  finance  it  for  a  few  years.  We  combined  with 
it  a  music  school  under  the  supervision  of  David  Marines 
and  Harriet  Seymour  who  had  been  active  in  the  Third 
Street  Music  School  Settlement. 

We  established  it  at  once  at  1,637  Washington  Avenue, 
and,  as  the  people  said,  "with  a  golden  spoon  in  its 
mouth."  The  children  in  the  neighbourhood — and  there 
were  thousands  of  them — flocked  to  it  from  the  very  day 
it  was  started.  There  seemed  to  be  an  insatiable  demand 
for  instruction  in  music,  and  it  has  been  a  never-ending 
delight  to  see  the  steady  strides  made  by  the  little  orches 
tra  started  in  the  beginning  by  Mr.  Edgar  Stowell,  up 
to  1922,  when  I  saw  them  carry  the  entire  musical  pro 
gramme  of  the  pageant  of  the  joint  settlement  houses  at 
Hunter  College.  Several  times  we  have  been  surprised 


SOCIAL  SERVICE  107 

by  having  this  little  orchestra  give  us  a  performance  at 
our  house,  and  at  other  times  we  have  been  regaled  with 
the  performance  of  "Alice  in  Wonderland"  by  one  of 
the  clubs  of  the  Bronx  House.  When  I  survey  the  prog 
ress  made  and  the  happiness  given  the  scholars  of  the 
music  schools,  and  the  members  of  the  thirty-odd  clubs, 
I  feel  that  the  funds  that  I  have  invested  in  the  Bronx 
House  have  produced  far  greater  dividends  than  any 
of  my  other  investments. 

Another  of  my  social  activities  was  my  work  as  a  mem 
ber  of  the  Committee  on  Congestion  of  Population  in 
New  York  City,  which  really  did  excellent  service  in  call 
ing  attention  to  the  housing  conditions  of  the  metropolis. 
This  committee  owed  a  great  deal  to  the  inspiration  of 
that  beautiful  soul,  Carola  Woerishoefer,  granddaughter 
of  Oswald  Ottendorfer;  Benjamin  C.  Marsh  was  its 
secretary,  and  it  was  active  for  several  years.  Our  social 
survey  discovered  that  over  fifty  blocks  in  New  York 
had  each  a  population  of  between  3,000  and  4,000  souls, 
and  that  the  city's  tenements  contained  some  346,000  dark 
rooms.  We  had  diagrams  and  models  made,  illustrat 
ing  these  conditions,  listing  the  plague-spots  where  tuber 
culosis  thrived,  calling  attention  to  the  overcrowding  in 
schools  and  the  shortage  of  public  playgrounds;  in  1908 
we  held  an  exhibition  in  the  Twenty-second  Regiment 
Armoury  and,  by  this  and  other  means,  succeeded  in  se 
curing  considerable  remedial  legislation.  Then  in  1911 
there  was  the  terrible  fire  in  the  Triangle  Shirt  Factory 
— an  "upstairs"  factory — where,  owing  to  the  bad  condi 
tions,  160  girl  employees  were  killed.  That  resulted  in  a 
public  protest  against  inadequate  factory  inspection  and 
the  creation  of  a  "Committee  of  Safety"  in  which  I 
served  in  company,  among  others,  with  Miss  Anne  Mor 
gan,  Miss  Mary  Dreier,  Miss  Frances  Perkins,  George 
W.  Perkins,  John  A.  Kingsbury,  Peter  Brady,  and  Amos 


108  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

Pinchot.  When  Henry  L.  Stimson  relinquished  his 
duties  as  chairman  to  become  Secretary  of  War,  I  suc 
ceeded  him.  We  were  instrumental  in  having  the  legis 
lature  appoint  a  factory  investigating  committee  of  which 
Alfred  E.  Smith  was  chairman  and  Robert  Wagner  vice- 
chairman. 

These  men  came  to  see  me,  soon  after  their  appoint 
ments,  in  some  embarrassment.  They  seemed  sincerely 
desirous  of  performing  their  duties,  but  said  they  were 
badly  handicapped. 

"Are  you  folks  going  to  finance  this  investigation?" 
they  asked.  "Because,  if  you  aren't,  we  don't  see  how  it 
is  to  be  carried  on.  The  legislature  appropriated  only 
$10,000,  and  it  will  take  all  that  to  pay  a  good  attorney 
to  do  the  necessary  legal  work." 

"I  can  get  you  a  first-class  lawyer  who  will  not  demand 
any  fee,"  I  said,  "and  he  will  be  satisfactory  to  everybody 
concerned,  including  Tammany  Hall." 

The  man  I  had  in  mind  was  Abram  I.  Elkus.  He 
agreed  with  me  as  to  the  good  he  could  do  in  this  capacity, 
and  the  public  honour  to  be  won  if  he  would  volunteer  his 
services.  Within  two  hours  after  my  interview  with 
Smith  &  Wagner,  Mr.  Elkus  had  assumed  the  post.  The 
result  was  thirty-one  successful  bills  constituting  what  is 
to  my  mind  the  best  labour  legislation  ever  passed  by  a 
State  Legislature. 


CHAPTER  VII 

EARLY   POLITICAL  EXPERIENCES 

MY  EARLIEST  contact  with  the  inner  workings 
of  politics  was  reading  the  dramatic  story  of  the 
downfall  of  the  infamous  Tweed  Ring. 

Tweed  had  seemed  a  wonderful  figure;  we  boys  knew 
him  only  in  his  largest  successful  aspects  as  a  dictator: 
the  originator  of  Riverside  Drive,  the  constructor  of  the 
lavish  Court  House,  the  arbiter  of  the  City's  destinies. 
He  had  made  John  T.  Hoffman,  Governor  of  the  State, 
and  A.  Oakey  Hall,  Mayor  of  the  City. 

I  had  come  into  personal  touch  with  the  picturesque 
Oakey  Hall.  I  had  to  serve  a  summons  on  him  in  his 
official  capacity  and  found  him  in  his  executive  office  wear 
ing  a  red  velvet  coat. 

"Young  man,"  he  said,  with  all  the  patronage  of  an 
emperor  addressing  some  messenger  from  a  remote  prov 
ince  of  his  domains — and  with  a  splendid  accentuation 
of  his  title — "y°u  can  now  swear  that  you  have  served  the 
Mayor  of  New  York!" 

Sometime  thereafter  I  saw  this  same  mayor  act  in  "The 
Crucible,"  a  play  written  by  himself,  to  prove  his  inno 
cence  under  the  Tweed  regime. 

We  law-students  had  looked  with  veneration  to  the 
Supreme  Court.  We  conceived  of  its  members  as  men  of 
immaculate  morality,  constantly  practising  an  even 
balance  of  the  scales  of  Justice.  Our  deepest  admiration 
was  evoked  by  their  confidence  and  self-possession  and  the 
awe-inspiring  manner  in  which  they  exercised  their  pow 
ers.  Many  a  time  when  I  went  before  one  of  these  judges 

109 


110  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

to  ask  an  adjournment,  or  to  have  an  order  signed,  I 
marvelled  at  the  rapidity  with  which  he  grasped  the  con 
tents  of  the  papers  submitted  to  him,  and  it  was  a  severe 
blow  to  my  faith  in  our  legal  and  political  institutions 
when  the  impeachment  of  several  of  these  judges,  and 
the  removal  of  some  of  them,  showed  that  not  a  few  had 
been  tools  in  the  hands  of  a  corrupt  boss. 

Nor  were  we  younger  men  alone  in  our  disillusion 
ment.  Others  had  been  deceived;  the  leading  citizens  of 
New  York  had  associated  themselves  in  business  with  the 
imposing  dictator.  I  still  have  an  advertisement  of  the 
New  York  (Viaduct)  Railroad  Company,  and  in  the  list 
of  its  directors  the  name  of  William  M.  Tweed  appears 
between  that  of  A.  T.  Stewart  and  August  Belmont; 
Richard  B.  Connolly  next  to  Joseph  Seligman;  John 
Jacob  Astor  has  A.  Oakey  Hall  on  one  side  and  Peter  B. 
Sweeney  on  the  other;  immediately  after  Sweeney  comes 
Levi  P.  Morton.  The  "Big  Four"  of  Tammany  were  in 
good  company. 

How  far  the  Ring  might  have  extended  its  power,  it 
is  impossible  to  say.  Tweed  had  promoted  Hoffman 
from  the  mayoralty  to  the  governorship  and  no  doubt  in 
tended  to  present  him  as  a  presidential  candidate  in  '72. 
Amongst  my  clippings  I  find  one  which  shows  that  the 
West  was  already  considering  Hoffman  as  a  national 
figure.  It  is  from  a  New  York  newspaper  and  quotes  the 
Western  press  as  announcing  the  following  slate: 

R.  Gratz  Brown  of  Missouri,  President; 
John  Quincy  Adams  of  Massachusetts,  Vice-President ; 
Governor  Hoffman  of  New  York,  Secretary  of  State; 
Lyman  Trumbull  of  Illinois,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury ; 
General  Hancock  of  Pennsylvania,  Secretary  of  War; 
Thomas  A.  Hendricks  of  Indiana,  Secretary  of  the  Interior; 
Horace  Greeley  of  New  York,  Postmaster-General ; 
George  H.  Pendleton  of  Ohio,  Attorney-General. 


EARLY  POLITICAL  EXPERIENCES    111 

As  it  happened,  Greeley  became  a  presidential  and 
Gratz  Brown  a  vice-presidential  candidate;  Hancock 
subsequently  ran  for  president,  and  Hendricks  achieved 
the  vice-presidency;  but  the  serious  and  uncontradicted 
publication  of  that  slate  indicated  the  direction  of  Tweed's 
ambitions  at  the  time  when  Samuel  J.  Tilden  wrought  his 
downfall  and  relegated  Hoffman  into  obscurity. 

In  the  reaction  from  these  disclosures,  Tilden  became 
the  younger  generation's  hero :  he  had  rescued  New  York 
from  corruption.  I  was  so  impressed  with  his  services 
that,  when  my  fellow  law-student,  Michael  Sigerson,  ran 
for  the  State  Assembly,  while  Tilden  sought  the  presi 
dency,  I  made  my  first  entry  into  politics — before  I  was 
even  a  voter — by  giving  several  October  nights,  in  1876, 
to  speech-making  for  Tilden  and  Sigerson  in  the  latter's 
district  on  the  Lower  East  Side. 

I  am  one  of  those  who  have  always  felt  that  Tilden 
was  elected,  and  that  the  National  Republican  machine 
prevented  him  from  taking  his  seat. 

My  observation  of  the  machine  system  convinced  me, 
through  such  happenings,  that  the  gravest  danger  to 
democracy  arose  from  within.  I  soon  saw  that,  in  such  a 
city  as  New  York,  where  the  mass  of  the  voters  are  un 
familiar  with  governmental  functions  and  ignorant  that 
a  proper  administration  thereof  is  the  safeguard  of  lib 
erty,  the  control  of  the  dominant  party  would  frequently 
be  secured  by  a  character  like  Tweed.  The  more  I  saw  of 
Tammany  Hall,  the  deeper  this  conviction  became. 

Tammany  was  then  as  well  organized  as  at  any  time  in 
its  history.  The  district  leaders  were  generally  selected 
by  its  boss  and  always  responsible  to  him.  They,  in 
turn,  had  their  precinct  leaders  dependent  on  them  for 
preferment  and  continuance  in  office.  The  boss  arranged 
his  appointments  so  that  he  could  absolutely  depend  on 
the  servility  of  a  majority  of  the  district  leaders.  It  was 


112  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

only  now  and  then  that  one  had  the  courage  to  assert  his 
independence  and  fight  the  machine.  Then  he  would 
either  be  summarily  displaced,  lose  his  own 'little  organiza 
tion  by  his  inability  to  dispense  patronage,  or  else  he 
would  be  brought  back  into  slavery  by  the  gift  of  office. 

This  plan  of  organization  has,  with  slight  alterations, 
continued  ever  since.  After  Tweed's  displacement,  John 
Kelly  came  into  the  leadership ;  his  personal  honesty  was 
never  doubted,  but  he  had  used  the  old  system  to  obtain 
power  and  had  to  continue  it  to  hold  what  he  had  gained. 
The  story  of  his  downfall,  though  not  discreditable  to 
him,  is  almost  as  dramatic  as  Tweed's. 

In  his  political  capacity,  Kelly  was  Comptroller  of  the 
City  of  New  York,  when  a  number  of  reformers  deter 
mined  to  oust  him;  in  his  personal  capacity,  he  was  the 
owner  of  an  influential  newspaper,  the  Express.  The 
loss  of  the  comptrollership  would,  of  course,  involve  the 
loss  of  his  Tammany  leadership;  but  the  policy  of  his 
paper  was  an  important  factor  in  the  fight. 

William  C.  Whitney,  then  Corporation  Counsel, 
headed  the  opposition;  he  had  planned  to  remove  Kelly 
by  a  vote  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen.  Two  things  were 
necessary:  publicity  in  the  press  and  votes  in  the  Board. 

James  Gordon  Bennett's  career  was  just  then  at  its 
height.  Not  long  before  Whitney  began  his  quiet  cam 
paign  the  owner  of  the  Herald — a  powerful  six-footer 
— entering  the  old  Delmonico's  restaurant  at  Chambers 
Street  and  Broadway,  tried  to  brush  aside  a  slim  young 
man  who  was  unconsciously  crowding  him  at  the  bar.  To 
Bennett's  amazement,  the  stranger  offered  resistance. 
Quick  blows  were  exchanged,  and  before  the  newspaper 
proprietor  knew  what  had  happened,  he  had  measured 
his  length  on  the  floor;  his  antagonist  was  the  pugilist 
Edwards,  lightweight  champion  of  that  period.  Bennett 
exerted  his  influence  on  the  newspapers  to  suppress  all 


EARLY  POLITICAL  EXPERIENCES    113 

accounts  of  this  occurrence,  and  everyone  agreed  except 
the  Express.  It  published  the  story,  and,  in  consequence, 
Whitney  found  the  owner  of  the  Herald  perfectly  willing 
to  do  his  part  toward  the  political  downfall  of  the  owner 
of  the  Express.  Bennett  turned  all  the  guns  of  his  paper 
on  the  Comptroller. 

For  action  in  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  however,  some 
Republican  votes  were  required.  Whitney  consulted 
Roscoe  Conkling,  then  leader  of  his  party  in  New  York 
State  and  soon  to  win  national  fame  for  his  all  but  suc 
cessful  attempt  to  secure  Grant's  nomination  to  a  third 
term  in  the  White  House.  Conkling's  reply  was  what 
Whitney  expected :  the  Republican  state  leader  would  not 
interfere  in  local  matters,  but  had  no  objection  to  Whit 
ney's  discussing  them  with  his  county  lieutenants. 

Whitney  did.  He  went  to  the  Republican  county 
leaders,  and  they  agreed  to  deliver  the  necessary  votes  in 
the  Board  of  Aldermen.  Just  what  deal  was  made,  I,  of 
course,  do  not  know,  but  New  York  was  soon  surprised; 
the  Aldermen  displaced  Kelly,  breaking  his  power;  the 
Mayor  appointed  Andrew  H.  Green  in  his  stead,  and  two 
Republican  leaders  became  police  justices. 

Richard  Croker,  Kelly's  successor,  I  knew  personally 
and  had  unusual  opportunities  to  study  at  close  range, 
through  my  business  dealings  with  the  firm  of  Peter  F. 
Meyer  &  Company,  auctioneers.  In  that  combination 
Richard  Croker  was  the  "Company." 

Meyer's  career  was  colourful.  Peter,  as  a  mere  lad, 
had  a  clerkship  in  the  two  rooms  on  the  ground  floor  oc 
cupied  by  Adrian  H.  Muller  &  Son,  one  of  the  oldest  and 
most  reliable  real  estate  auctioneers  in  New  York.  By 
sheer  ability  he  gradually  rose  to  be  its  head.  Through 
Croker's  influence,  the  Supreme  Court  transferred  the 
public  auction  rooms  back  to  111  Broadway,  from  whence 
they  had  been  shifted  to  the  Real  Estate  Exchange, 


114  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

59  Liberty  Street.  Meyer,  with  gratitude  for  such  past 
favours,  and  perhaps  with  a  lively  anticipation  of  favours 
yet  to  come,  took  Croker  into  partnership;  the  firm  of 
Peter  F.  Meyer  &  Company  resulted.  Peter  wanted  the 
Tammany  nomination  for  Mayor,  was  disappointed  when 
he  did  not  get  it,  and  scornfully  refused  the  post  of  Sheriff 
as  a  stepping-stone.  That  his  new  association  profited  him 
in  other  directions  was,  nevertheless,  soon  evident. 

As  I  remained  long  one  of  the  firm's  best  customers  I 
had  the  entree  to  their  inner  office  and  so  was  in  frequent 
contact  with  the  silent  partner.  It  was  an  instructive 
but  not  always  an  encouraging  experience.  Croker's 
real  estate  office  was  also  his  political  headquarters;  in 
fact,  as  I  saw  him  at  work  there,  I  realized  that  politics 
was  far  more  his  business  than  was  the  earning  of  the 
real  estate  commissions.  It  was  as  his  business  that  he 
treated  the  Democratic  Organization  of  the  City  of  New 
York.  Again  and  again  I  have  seen  this  keen,  forever 
busy  man,  economic  with  his  words,  but  always  speak 
ing  to  the  point,  demonstrate  that  he  felt  he  owned  that 
organization  just  as  much  as  any  man  controls  a  concern 
in  which  he  has  a  substantial  majority  of  the  stock. 

Generally  as  I  passed  through  the  outer  room,  there 
were  district  leaders  waiting  there,  to  report  to  their  com 
manding-general  and  receive  his  orders.  Beside  them, 
and  on  much  the  same  mission,  there  would  frequently  be 
sitting  men  of  considerable  importance  in  other  affairs 
than  those  generally  esteemed  strictly  political;  but 
though  these  included  certain  lawyers  who  later  graced — 
and  many  of  whom  still  grace — the  Supreme  Court,  I 
feel  bound  to  add  that  Croker  always  respected  the  sanc 
tity  of  the  Courts. 

In  any  case,  I  have  rarely  seen  a  leader  of  whatever 
sort  held  in  such  awe  or  so  sought  after  for  favours.  Once, 
at  a  reception  of  the  National  Democratic  Club,  Croker 


EARLY  POLITICAL  EXPERIENCES    115 

asked  me  to  sit  next  to  him,  and  talked  to  me  for  a  half- 
hour  and  more  of  real  estate  prospects  and  reminiscences ; 
from  the  corner  of  my  eye  I  could  see  the  guests  watch 
ing  him  with  interest  and  me  with  envy;  when  I  got  up, 
several  of  my  friends  adroitly  tried  to  learn  from  me  what 
political  position  I  had  just  been  promised — they  could 
not  understand  how  anybody  would  be  given  thirty  min 
utes  of  Richard  Croker's  time  unless  asking  for,  or  being 
offered,  an  important  office!  Many  years  later,  I  sat  in 
Warsaw  beside  Pilsudski,  dictator  of  the  new  Poland; 
the  glances  that  I  then  received  were  exactly  of  the  sort 
bestowed  on  me  at  that  Fifth  Avenue  reception  by  the 
citizens  of  our  own  Republic. 

Croker's  withdrawal  from  the  Tammany  leadership  was 
voluntary  and  due  largely  to  his  recognition  of  his  own 
limitations.  During  his  incumbency,  political  conditions 
gradually  changed ;  they  so  shaped  themselves  that  Tam 
many — which,  ever  since  Tweed's  downfall,  had  been  rele 
gated  to  municipal  affairs — would  soon  be  called  upon  to 
play  an  active  part  in  State  matters.  To  protect  his  or 
ganization,  the  boss  would  have  to  control  or  check  legisla 
tion  at  Albany  affecting  the  City  of  New  York,  and  also 
endeavour  to  influence  the  New  York  delegations  to  the 
National  Conventions  so  as  to  secure  federal  patronage. 
To  Croker,  these  were  unexplored  fields;  he  knew  muni 
cipal  organization  politics  as  few  men  of  his  time,  but  he 
appreciated  the  proverb  about  teaching  an  old  dog  new 
tricks.  Partly  through  his  connection  with  Andrew 
Freedman  of  the  Interborough  System,  and  partly 
through  that  with  Peter  Meyer,  he  had  become  rich  be 
yond  all  his  early  hopes;  he  had  the  good  sense,  unusual 
in  champions,  to  quit  the  ring  before  losing  his  title  to  a 
younger  man. 

Perhaps  with  some  lingering  desire  to  retain  some  hold 
on  the  affairs  of  the  organization  which  he  had  so  long 


116  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

governed,  Croker  arranged  to  be  succeeded  by  a  trium 
virate — Charles  F.  Murphy,  Daniel  F.  McMahon,  and, 
to  give  the  Bronx  a  voice,  Louis  F.  Hems — but  that  ar 
rangement  did  not  last  long.  Murphy  had  the  nominal 
leadership  and  soon  made  it  real.  He  attached  to  him 
self  a  majority  of  the  district  leaders,  fought  the  re 
mainder,  and  replaced  all  who  were  irreconcilable  by 
creatures  of  his  ownc  He  went  further  and  accomplished 
what  Croker  had  not  dared  to  attempt:  the  Cleveland 
Democrats  in  the  up-state  organization  had  gradually 
lost  their  hold  on  that  machine,  and  the  many  excellent 
men  who  later  became  devotees  of  the  Wilsonic  teaching 
lacked  the  propensities  necessary  to  assuming  control; 
they  were  men  of  affairs  who  devoted  thought  to  politics 
only  during  a  campaign,  whereas,  the  professional  ele 
ment  was  "on  the  job"  for  three  hundred  and  sixty-five 
days  in  the  year;  in  that  element  Tammany  found  its  own 
type,  and  converted  these  into  its  willing  tools. 

Within  a  comparatively  short  time,  Murphy,  who  had 
begun  as  a  humble  leader  in  the  Gas  House  District  of 
Manhattan,  was  both  the  head  of  the  City  and  State 
machine  in  New  York.  It  has  been  most  depressing  for 
Independents  to  see  him  absolutely  control  the  Empire 
State  delegation  in  the  last  three  National  Democratic 
Conventions,  casting  the  vote  of  the  ninety-six  delegates, 
the  largest  vote  possessed  by  any  state — "as  though,"  in 
Bryan's  phraseology,  "he  owned  them." 

My  personal  experiences  with  him  have  been  few,  but 
they  have  served  to  confirm  my  first  impressions.  In 
1910  there  was  to  be  an  election  for  Borough  President 
of  the  Bronx;  Arthur  D.  Murphy,  the  Tammany  leader 
of  the  district,  but  not  related  to  Charles  F.  Murphy, 
aspired  to  the  position.  George  F.  and  Frederick  John 
son  and  I  called  on  the  Chief. 

He  is  a  large  man,  with  a  huge  round  face  and  heavy 


EARLY  POLITICAL  EXPERIENCES    117 

jowl.  His  eyes  have  not  the  piercing  quality  that 
Croker's  had;  they  are  blue  and  kindly  and  his  manner  is 
altogether  conciliatory.  He  knew  our  mission,  but  his 
reception  was  cordial. 

We  put  our  case  frankly.  We  were  among  the  largest 
investors  in  the  Bronx.  We  wanted  that  section  to  be  a 
desirable  home-centre  for  the  over-flow  of  New  York's 
population.  We,  therefore,  felt  justified  in  discussing 
with  him  the  necessity  of  having  a  proper  administration 
with  a  respected  citizen  at  its  head. 

"We  feel,"  we  said,  "that  Arthur  Murphy  is  not  the 
man  for  the  place.  We  have  no  candidate  of  our  own: 
we  ask  you  to  see  that  a  man  be  selected  who  is  fitted  by 
experience  and  character  to  be  the  head  of  this  growing 
borough.  We  want  to  tell  you  in  advance  that  unless 
this  is  done,  we  will  be  forced  to  defeat  Tammany's  can 
didate  at  the  polls." 

The  Boss  listened  attentively  and  without  evincing 
either  surprise  or  antagonism.  When  we  were  through, 
he  said: 

"I'll  try  to  prevent  Arthur  Murphy's  nomination." 

He  sincerely  did  try.  He  sent  his  brother  to  repre 
sent  him  at  the  Convention,  but  failed  to  prevent  Arthur 
Murphy  from  securing  the  place  on  the  ticket. 

A  few  days  later  the  Tammany  Chief  sent  for  the 
Johnsons  and  myself. 

"I  did  the  best  I  could,"  he  said,  "but  I  couldn't  stop 
this  thing.  I  want  you  men  to  recognize  my  good  faith 
and  abide  by  the  decision  of  the  Convention." 

"Mr.  Murphy,"  I  said,  "I  told  you  before  that  I  never 
merely  threaten.  If  I  withdrew  my  opposition,  in  defer 
ence  to  your  wishes,  all  that  we  said  at  our  last  visit  would 
become  mere  bluff.  Your  unsuccessful  efforts  don't 
change  the  status  of  Arthur  Murphy.  We  mean  to  run 
a  third  candidate,  and  we  will  defeat  your  man." 


118  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

The  manner  of  the  Boss  made  me  feel  that  far  from 
being  angry,  he  rather  liked  my  consistency  and  sincerity. 
At  any  rate,  we  followed  our  plan,  and  Cyrus  C.  Miller, 
a  Republican,  who  gave  the  Bronx  an  excellent  adminis 
tration,  was  elected. 

Within  the  party,  I  had  seen  Tammany  fought  by  the 
Young  Democracy  and  then  by  the  Irving  Hall  Democ 
racy,  but  for  a  long  time  its  best  enemy — until  that,  too, 
fell  before  it — was  the  County  Democracy,  at  the  head 
of  which  was  Police  Judge  Maurice  J.  Power,  the  discov 
erer  of  Grover  Cleveland  and  incidentally  a  client  of  our 
firm. 

Power  was  a  bronze-founder  when  Cleveland  was 
Mayor  of  Buffalo.  The  Mayor  and  the  founder  had 
some  dealings  about  a  statue  that  Power  had  cast  for  the 
city,  and  the  latter  observed  and  admired  the  Executive's 
extraordinary  ability.  At  the  next  state  convention  Dan 
Manning,  Lamont,  and  the  other  leaders  had  intended  to 
nominate  either  General  Henry  W.  Slocum  or  Roswell 
P.  Flower  as  Governor.  They  found  it  impossible. 
Power  formed  a  combination  with  the  delegates  of  Erie, 
Chemung,  and  Kings,  and  named  Cleveland  and  Hill  to 
head  the  ticket. 

Power  has  told  me  the  story.  When  he  informed 
Cleveland  that  he  was  expected  to  name  the  chairman  and 
secretary  of  the  State  Committee  for  his  campaign,  Cleve 
land  asked  him: 

"Who  have  those  positions  now?" 

"Manning  and  Lamont,"  said  Power. 

"Are  they  good  men?" 

"They're  mighty  capable  men." 

"Well,"  said  Cleveland,  "I  have  no  personal  friends 
that  I  want  to  put  there.  Why  shouldn't  I  keep  Man 
ning  and  Lamont?" 

Cleveland  had  been  an  unknown  quantity  to  these  men 


EARLY  POLITICAL  EXPERIENCES    119 

who  opposed  him  in  the  Convention,  and  they  were  pleased 
by  this  sign  of  his  good  will  and  political  acumen.  They 
accepted  the  offer,  and  later  became  his  warm  friends  for 
life.  i 

After  Cleveland's  second  election  as  President,  the 
newspapers  announced  Power  as  the  next  postmaster  of 
New  York,  but  he  did  not  attend  the  inauguration.  It 
was  not  until  after  that  event  that  he  went  to  Washington, 
where  he  met  Croker. 

"Judge,"  said  the  Tammany  Boss,  "if  you  want  to  be 
postmaster,  we  won't  oppose  you.  We  want  you  to  have 
something  that  will  satisfy  you." 

Power  went  to  the  White  House,  where  Lament  re 
ceived  him  with  the  statement  that  the  President  had  been 
asking  for  him  a  number  of  times  and  could  not  under 
stand  why  he  had  been  absent  from  the  inaugural 
ceremonies.  The  caller  was  taken  into  the  President's 
executive  office,  where,  although  the  month  was  March, 
Cleveland  sat  at  his  desk  in  shirt-sleeves.  He  came  at 
once  to  the  point. 

"Look  here,"  he  said,  "I've  been  wanting  to  know 
whether  you'd  accept  the  New  York  postmastership. 
Will  you?  For  old  friendship's  sake,  I  should  like  yours 
to  be  the  first  appointment  I  make  for  New  York." 

"I'm  not  strong  in  administrative  work,  as  I  don't  like 
details,"  said  Power.  Then,  jokingly,  he  added:  "If  you 
have  some  less  exacting  position  which  will  not  conflict 
with  my  attending  to  my  foundry,  I'd  be  glad  to  accept 
that."  ' 

Cleveland  said  that  he  knew  of  no  such  position.  How 
ever,  at  10 :30  that  night,  Power  was  again  sent  for. 

"I've  found  the  place  for  you,"  said  the  President. 
"They  tell  me  that  the  Shipping  Commissionership  in 
New  York  pays  $5,000,  and  will  require  but  little  of  your 
time." 


120  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

To  that  post  Power  was  duly  appointed. 

My  relations  with  him  were  always  pleasant.  He  once 
told  me  that  the  lack  of  funds  was  about  to  result  in  the 
dissolution  of  the  County  Organization  and  said  that  I 
could  have  the  chairmanship  if  I  were  willing  to  con 
tribute  $25,000  toward  keeping  it  alive:  I  had  no  ambi 
tion  in  that  direction,  and  Charles  A.  Jackson  got  the 
place.  Again,  in  1887,  when  Power  was  in  the  saddle, 
my  partner,  Lachman,  wanted  the  nomination  of  Judge 
in  the  Sixth  District  Court,  but  because  he  has  always 
been  a  very  modest  man,  and  because  he  had  heard  that 
Judge  Kelly,  then  holding  that  office,  was  seeking  renomi- 
nation,  he  would  not  follow  the  usual  custom  of  going 
personally  to  Power  and  urging  his  cause.  One  day 
within  a  month  of  election,  as  I  crossed  Park  Place,  I  saw 
Power  seated  on  a  bootblack's  stand  in  front  of  his  office 
at  235  Broadway.  I  immediately  went  to  our  office  at 
243  Broadway,  and  stormed  Lachman  into  visiting  that 
bootblack  stand  immediately. 

"The  queer  thing  is,"  said  Power,  "that  I  should  not 
have  thought  of  you  for  the  place  long  ago.  Of  course  you 
shall  have  the  place." 

He  went  through  the  form  of  offering  renomination  to 
Kelly,  who  declined  it.  I  ran  a  fourteen-day  campaign 
for  Lachman,  and  he  was  elected.  This  was  my  only 
experience  in  managing  a  political  campaign  until  I 
became  chairman  of  the  Democratic  Finance  Committee 
in  the  National  Campaign  of  1912. 

In  1882,  when  the  Sidney  Webbs,  husband  and  wife, 
the  English  publicists,  were  visiting  America,  they  told 
Miss  Lillian  D.  Wald  that  they  would  like  to  meet  an 
American  "boss,"  and  I  arranged  such  a  meeting  with 
Power  as  the  star.  With  considerable  pride  and  absolute 
frankness,  he  explained  in  full  detail  how  a  boss  came  into 
being  and  how  he  remained  in  control.  He  laid  great 


EARLY  POLITICAL  EXPERIENCES    121 

stress  on  the  fact  that  he  was  a  permanent  substance, 
while  the  lesser  leaders  and  the  captors  of  mere  popu 
larity  were  but  passing  shadows  on  the  political  glass. 
He  explained  how  the  bosses  named  mayors  and  gover 
nors  and  sometimes  even  presidents — how  they  played  the 
ambitions  of  one  aspirant  against  those  of  another,  and 
how  they  had  a  fatal  advantage  over  opponents  who  gave 
only  part  time  to  the  business  of  politics. 

Webb,  looking  at  his  wife  for  agreement,  said: 

"Isn't  this  remarkable?  It's  exactly  the  method  that 
the  executive  secretaries  of  the  English  labour  unions  use 
to  maintain  their  positions." 

Before  I  had  much  to  do  with  politics,  I  found  out  that 
neither  New  York  City  nor  New  York  State  stood  alone 
in  its  political  obloquy.  Some  of  the  greatest  municipali 
ties  in  the  country,  and  many  of  the  states,  were,  and  are 
to-day,  under  control  of  machines  like  Tammany.  As 
these  bosses  are  of  the  same  ilk,  have  the  same  aims  and 
pursue  the  same  methods,  and  as  many  of  them  have 
maintained  themselves  for  several  decades,  a  strong  friend 
ship  has  grown  up  amongst  them,  and  they  to-day  practi 
cally  control  the  national  committees  and  the  national 
machinery  of  both  parties. 

Thus,  in  1920,  Cox  was  nominated  for  the  presidency 
by  a  combination  of  Democratic  State  bosses,  who,  fear 
ing  defeat,  were  determined  at  least  to  keep  their  control 
of  the  party  organization.  I  know  Judge  Moore  very 
well.  He  was  the  only  member  of  the  National  Com 
mittee  in  1916  who  threatened  to  head  an  open  revolt 
against  President  Wilson's  selection  of  Vance  McCor- 
mick  as  chairman  of  the  National  Committee,  because 
McCormick  was  not  a  member  of  that  committee.  Judge 
Hudspeth,  of  New  Jersey,  National  Committeeman, 
came  to  me  in  great  dismay  at  the  St.  Louis  Convention, 
and  told  me  so.  We  had  a  private  telephone  to  the  White 


122  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

House,  and,  at  Hudspeth's  request,  I  called  up  the  Presi 
dent,  and  stated  the  facts.  The  President  answered  that, 
as  the  campaign  was  to  be  run  by  his  own  friends,  his 
choice  of  one  of  them  would  have  to  be  ratified  even  if  it 
displeased  Judge  Moore. 

I  was,  therefore,  much  amused  in  1920  to  see  how  Judge 
Moore  "beat  the  devil  around  the  stump"  when  he  wanted 
George  White  selected  as  chairman  of  the  Democratic 
National  Committee.  Moore  resigned  his  position  as  a 
member  of  that  committee,  and  White  was  elected  in  his 
place  a  few  hours  before  he  was  made  chairman  of  the 
Democratic  National  Committee.  It  was  Murphy  of 
New  York;  Brennan  of  Chicago,  who  had  taken  Roger 
Sullivan's  place;  Nugent  of  New  Jersey;  Taggart  of 
Indiana;  Moore  of  Ohio,  and  Marsh  of  Iowa — all  out 
standing  bosses — who  combined  to  control  the  nomination. 
McAdoo  and  Mitchell  Palmer's  followers  not  agreeing  to 
combine  their  forces  against  this  solid  phalanx,  the  latter 
prevailed  and  the  Democratic  National  organization  is 
temporarily  in  their  hands. 

This  method  of  government  is  by  no  means  confined  to 
the  Democratic  Party.  The  Republicans  are  even  greater 
offenders.  The  three  Democrats  that  have  been  elected 
to  the  Presidency  since  the  Civil  War — Tilden,  Cleveland, 
and  Wilson — were  all  outstanding  reformers,  and  were 
nominated  in  spite  of  the  bosses  or  machines  and  not  with 
their  cooperation.  The  Republicans,  on  the  other  hand, 
have  perfected  to  a  greater  degree  the  machine  control  of 
their  party,  and  for  many  years  their  senatorial  oligarchy 
has  controlled  the  party  machinery. 

At  the  convention  that  nominated  McKinley  this 
machinery  worked  perfectly,  and  Mark  Hanna,  after 
ward  senator  from  Ohio,  was  at  the  throttle.  When, 
however,  McKinley  died  at  the  hand  of  an  assassin,  in 
Buffalo,  the  party  leaders  as  well  as  the  country's  leading 


EARLY  POLITICAL  EXPERIENCES    123 

business  men  were  tremendously  concerned  lest  Roose 
velt  should  disregard  their  wishes.  The  man  that  the 
bosses  had  reluctantly  named  Vice-President  had  hurried 
down  from  the  Adirondacks,  but  none  of  the  oligarchs  had 
been  able  to  get  a  word  with  him.  Leaving  Buffalo,  he 
got  aboard  a  train  for  New  York,  en  route  to  Washing 
ton;  the  leaders  boarded  the  same  train.  A  member  of 
that  group  himself  told  me  what  followed. 

The  leaders  agreed  that  Hanna  should  come  to  a  per 
sonal  understanding  with  the  new  President.  They  went 
to  Roosevelt,  who  welcomed  the  idea  of  the  interview. 

"I  should  be  de-lighted  to  have  him  lunch  with  me 
here,"  said  Roosevelt. 

The  table  was  laid  in  the  drawing-room,  and  as  Hanna 
entered  Roosevelt  held  out  both  his  hands. 

"Now,  old  man,"  he  said,  "let's  be  friends." 

Hanna  did  not  take  the  proffered  hands. 

"On  two  conditions,"  he  stipulated. 

"State  them,"  said  Roosevelt. 

"First,"  said  the  Senator,  "we  expect  you  to  carry  out 
McKinley's  policies  for  the  rest  of  his  unexpired  term." 

Roosevelt  nodded.  "I'll  do  that,  of  course.  What  is 
your  other  condition?" 

"It's  this,"  said  the  Senator,  "never  call  me  cold  man' 
again." 

Then  he  shook  hands.  He  did  more;  on  his  part  he 
promised  that  if  Roosevelt  kept  his  word,  and  if  he  re 
tained  McKinley's  cabinet  and  other  appointments,  he 
would  have  Hanna's  support  at  the  next  National  Con 
vention. 

It  was  a  compact  that  neither  man  forgot.  Before 
many  months  were  over  rumour  reported  a  conspiracy  on 
Hanna's  part  and  Roosevelt  unhesitatingly  repeated  this 
to  him. 

"You  are  carrying  out  your  part  of  the  bargain,"  said 


124  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

the  Senator,  "as  long  as  you  continue  to  do  so,  I'll  carry 
out  mine." 

When  Hanna  died,  the  machine  that  he  had  controlled 
fell  for  a  time  into  disuse  and  Roosevelt,  taking  advan 
tage  of  the  temporary  absence  of  a  machine-bred  leader, 
assumed  leadership,  not  as  the  head  of  the  old  machine, 
but  by  virtue  of  his  position  as  President.  He  did  not 
recognize  the  machine  leaders  of  the  various  states,  nor 
did  they  stand  behind  him,  but  he  used  his  power  to  name 
Taft  as  his  successor. 

Chief  Justice  Taft  has  himself  described  to  me  how 
Roosevelt  coached  him  for  the  fight.  When  he  called  at 
the  White  House,  the  President  asked  him : 

"Now,  then,  what  are  you  doing  about  your  campaign?" 

"I've  prepared  some  speeches,"  Taft  answered. 

"What  are  they  about?" 

"Well,  I'm  just  back  from  the  Philippines.  I  under 
stand  them,  and  thought  I'd  talk  mostly  about  them." 

Roosevelt  threw  up  his  hands.  "What  in  the  world 
are  you  thinking  of?  You  cannot  interest  the  American 
public  at  election-time  in  the  Philippines." 

"If  you  don't  think  they'll  want  to  hear  about  the  Phil 
ippines,  what  do  you  suggest  they  would  like  to  hear 
about?" 

"My  currency  measures,"  said  the  President.  "Talk 
to  them  about  my  currency  measures.  That's  what 
they're  interested  in." 

So  the  candidate  disregarded  what  he  had  written  and 
composed  a  new  set  of  speeches  expounding  Roosevelt's 
ideas  on  the  currency. 

Nevertheless,  Taft,  as  history  soon  demonstrated,  did 
not  recognize  the  Colonel  as  his  boss.  He  undoubtedly 
felt  sincere  friendship  for  Roosevelt  and  was  grateful  to 
him,  but  he  had  a  still  stronger  appreciation  of  the  respon 
sibilities  of  his  office.  Consequently,  there  soon  came 


EARLY  POLITICAL  EXPERIENCES    125 

about  a  conflict  between  Roosevelt's  adherents  and  Taft's, 
in  which  the  machine  leaders,  having  got  together  the 
pieces  of  the  broken  Hanna  oligarchy,  aligned  themselves 
with  the  new  President. 

What  followed  is  still  fresh  in  the  memory  of  most  of 
us.  Senator  Penrose,  of  Pennsylvania,  gradually  as 
sumed  leadership  of  the  national  machine;  the  Senate 
oligarchy  was  again  in  control  of  the  Republican  Party. 
Assured  in  1912  that  if  Roosevelt  reentered  the  White 
House  he  would  construct  an  organization  that  would 
be  the  death  of  theirs,  they  fought  the  most  desperate  of 
all  fights — the  fight  for  self-preservation.  They  tri 
umphed;  the  Colonel  resented  his  defeat  and  bolted  the 
Party.  It  is  one  of  the  absolute  principles  of  machine 
politics  that  the  welfare  of  the  machine  comes  before 
everything  else.  It  is  not  necessary  to  be  in  office;  a 
boss  is  often  stronger  when  in  opposition,  with  fewer  fol 
lowers  discontented  through  failure  to  receive  a  portion  of 
the  spoils  of  victory;  better  keep  the  machine  intact  and 
court  defeat  than  win  a  national  election  for  a  party  can 
didate  that  the  machine  cannot  control.  These  were  the 
maxims  that  were  applied  by  both  of  the  rival  organiza 
tions  within  the  Republican  fold — the  "regular"  Repub 
licans  and  the  Progressives — in  1912;  together  they  polled 
over  7,600,000  as  against  the  6,293,000  Democratic  bal 
lots;  but  each  considered  its  organization  more  important 
than  its  candidate.  The  world  can,  I  think,  be  grateful: 
the  result  was  Wilson. 

From  1912  onward  the  Republican  senatorial  oli 
garchy  mended  its  fences  and  repaired  its  machine.  With 
Penrose  for  the  directing  mind,  this  group  included 
Lodge,  Knox,  Brandegee,  Frelinghuysen,  Watson  of 
Indiana,  Moses,  Spencer,  Hale,  and  Wadsworth.  Some 
of  these  were  bosses  in  their  own  states;  all  were  influen 
tial  with  their  state  bosses.  Roosevelt  they  could  not 


126  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

ignore,  but,  when  he  died,  in  1919,  they  were  left  abso 
lutely  free-handed,  and  their  National  Chairman,  Will 
H.  Hays,  originally  a  man  of  Progressive  tendencies,  had 
successfully  employed  his  great  talents  as  an  organizer  in 
healing  the  wounds  of  the  internecine  struggle  of  1912. 
They  nominated  Senator  Harding,  and  he  was  elected. 

What  has  occurred  since  is  important  in  this  connec 
tion  only  as  a  side-light  on  my  general  contention.  Presi 
dent  Harding  knew  the  senatorial  ramifications  from 
within;  he  understood  the  conflict  of  personal  ambitions 
that,  human  nature  being  what  it  is,  went  on  behind  the 
general  community  of  interest  in  the  Senate  group.  His 
position  was  strengthened  by  the  long  illness  and  subse 
quent  death  of  Penrose  and  he  could,  and  did,  manipu 
late  these  personal  ambitions,  playing  one  against  the 
other  until  he  secured  a  practical  stalemate.  By  this 
evolution  of  events  President  Harding  has  been  relieved 
of  the  odium  of  being  controlled  by  a  senatorial  oligarchy. 

If  I  have  elaborated  my  observations  at  some  length,  it 
is  to  show  why  I  am  a  foe  to  machine  politics.  This  evil, 
which  can  reach  as  high  as  Washington,  has  its  roots  in  the 
city  election  precinct.  The  district  leader  holds  his  power 
either  through  dispensing  minor  patronage  or  by  influence 
with  magistrates  and  political  clubs,  and,  to  do  this,  he 
must  retain  the  favour  of  the  city  boss.  This  gives  the 
latter  a  thoroughly  organized  army  that  includes  even  a 
quasi  spy  system,  and  at  the  same  time  confers  a  power 
unshakeable  by  anything  short  of  an  overt  criminal  act. 
Personal  criticism  of  the  boss,  ostracizing  him  from  the 
better  sort  of  society,  does  not  help  matters,  does  not  harm 
him.  He  is  content  with  holding  what  he  has  won;  the 
thing  to  be  attacked  is  not  the  individual;  it  is  the  system, 
and,  in  combating  that,  the  serious  and  practically  un 
changeable  difficulty  consists  in  the  fact  that  very  few,  if 
any,  self-respecting,  high-class  men  will  submit  to  being 


EARLY  POLITICAL  EXPERIENCES    127 

bossed.  They  will  not  take  orders  from  Crokers  or  Pen- 
roses,  Hannas  or  Murphys;  therefore,  they  enter  fields 
where  the  final  arbiters,  the  men  who  have  to  decide  upon 
their  worth  and  promotion,  are  of  a  different  calibre,  and 
where  the  reward  for  their  efforts  and  work  is  not  depend 
ent  upon  the  whims  and  fancies  of  a  political  boss. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

MY  ENTRANCE  INTO  NATIONAL  POLITICS 

CONSCIENCE  doth  make  cowards  of  us  all." 
Not  mine — mine  made  me  a  politician.  At  fifty- 
five  years  of  age,  financially  independent,  and 
rich  in  experience,  and  recently  released  from  the  toils  of 
materialism,  it  ceaselessly  confronted  me  with  my  duty 
to  pay  back,  in  the  form  of  public  service,  the  overdraft 
which  I  had  been  permitted  to  make  upon  the  opportun 
ities  of  this  country.  Repayment  in  money  alone  would 
not  suffice :  I  must  pay  in  the  form  of  personal  service,  for 
which  my  experience  had  equipped  me.  And  I  must  pay 
now,  or  never. 

It  was  a  great  surprise  to  my  friends  when,  in  1912,  I 
suddenly  entered  politics,  and  threw  myself  heart  and 
soul  in  the  enterprise  of  securing  the  Presidential  nomi 
nation  for  Woodrow  Wilson.  "Why,"  they  asked  me;i 
"should  a  man  like  yourself,  whose  whole  active  life  has 
been  spent  in  the  thick  of  the  battle  for  wealth,  embark 
on  the  untried  sea  of  politics?  And  why,  if  you  are  de 
termined  to  take  the  risks  of  this  experiment,  do  you 
choose  so  forlorn  a  hope,  as  the  cause  of  the  least  likely  of 
all  the  candidates,  for  the  nomination  of  the  party  that 
has  elected  only  one  President  since  the  Civil  War?" 

The  answer  was  as  simple  to  me  as  it  was  strange  to 
them.  My  life  had  been  an  intense  struggle  between  ideal 
ism  and  materialism.  In  youth  I  had  burned  with  an 
enthusiasm  for  the  ideal,  which  had  fed  alike  upon  the 
teachings  of  the  Reverend  Dr.  Einhorn  in  my  boyhood, 
the  inspiring  association  which  I  had  enjoyed  with  a 

128 


ENTRANCE  INTO  POLITICS  129 

saintly  Quaker  doctor  in  New  York,  the  noble  messages 
to  which  I  had  listened  from  Christian  ministers,  and  the 
austere  and  lofty  ethical  philosophy  of  Dr.  Felix  Adler. 

In  early  manhood,  however,  the  temptation  of  material 
ism  had  beset  me  in  a  familiar  form.  Shortly  after  my 
marriage  I  had  some  financial  disappointments;  and  I 
was  compelled  to  devote  more  time  than  I  had  expected 
to  providing  for  my  family.  My  intention  was  to  make 
their  future  modestly  secure,  and  then  to  resume  my  ideal 
istic  avocation.  I  soon  found,  however,  that  I  had  a 
special  gift  for  making  money.  By  the  time  I  had  at 
tained  the  competency  which  had  been  my  ambition,  I  had 
become  fascinated  with  money-making  as  a  game.  Be 
fore  I  realized  it,  I  was  immersed  in  a  dozen  enterprises, 
was  obligated  to  a  hundred  business  friends,  and,  like  all 
my  associates,  was  deeply  absorbed  in  the  chase  for  wealth. 

Fortunately,  in  1905,  the  prospect  of  disaster  brought 
me  to  my  senses.  I  foresaw  the  Panic  of  1907;  and,  while 
others  all  around  me  plunged  onward  toward  the  brink,  I 
paused  and  took  stock  of  my  future.  I  began  to  sever 
my  financial  connections.  This  process  of  slowing  down 
my  business  pace  gave  me  time  for  other  introspection; 
and  I  realized,  with  astonishment  and  dismay,  how  far 
the  swift  tide  of  business  had  swept  me  from  the  course  I 
had  charted  for  my  life  in  youth.  I  was  ashamed  to  real 
ize  that  I  had  neglected  the  nobler  path  of  duty.  I  re 
solved  to  retire  wholly  from  active  business,  and  to  devote 
the  rest  of  my  life  to  making  good  the  better  resolutions  of 
my  boyhood. 

It  took  me  some  years  to  divest  myself  of  my  business 
obligations  on  one  hand,  and,  on  the  other,  to  find  a  prac 
tical  field  for  social  service.  During  this  period,  in  which 
I  was  "finding  myself,"  I  was  attracted  to  the  career  of 
Woodrow  Wilson.  I  admired  the  courage  with  which  he 
was  fighting  the  battle  of  democracy  at  Princeton.  And, 


130  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

in  the  early  months  of  1911, 1  was  even  more  delighted  to 
watch  his  progress  as  Governor  of  New  Jersey :  the  splen 
did  fight  he  was  making  there  to  overthrow  the  rule  of 
the  bosses,  and  to  write  into  the  statutes  of  the  state  those 
seven  measures  of  practical  reform  which  his  enemies  de 
risively  dubbed  the  "Seven  Sisters." 

"Here,"  I  said  to  myself,  "is  a  man  who  does  not  merely 
preach  political  righteousness ;  here  is  a  practical  reformer. 
This  man  has  Roosevelt's  gift  for  the  dramatic  diagnosis 
of  political  diseases;  he  has  Bryan's  moral  enthusiasm 
for  political  righteousness.  But  he  has  qualities  which 
these  men  lack:  these  are,  the  constructive  faculty, 
the  imagination  to  devise  remedies,  the  courage  to  apply 
them,  and  the  gift  of  leadership  to  put  them  into  effective 

tion."  I  wished  to  know  more  of  this  new  and  promis 
ing  character.  I  resolved  to  find  an  occasion  for  meeting 
him. 

Such  an  opportunity  came  a  few  weeks  later.  As 
president  of  the  Free  Synagogue  in  New  York  City,  I 
invited  Governor  Wilson  to  be  a  guest  of  honour  at  the 
dinner  in  celebration  of  the  fourth  anniversary  of  its 
foundation.  As  I  presided  at  the  dinner,  and  as  the  Gov 
ernor  was  seated  at  my  right,  it  gave  me  a  chance  to  get 
acquainted.  I  found  in  him  at  once  a  congenial  spirit, 
and  in  that  one  intense  conversation  I  got  more  from  him 
than  I  could  have  gotten  from  half  a  dozen  casual  meet 
ings. 

On  my  left  was  the  other  guest  of  honour,  Senator  Borah 
of  Idaho.  He  and  Wilson  proved  instantly  antagonistic. 
The  air  was  electrical  with  the  clash  of  their  dissimilar 
temperaments.  How  startled  I  would  have  been,  that 
evening,  could  I  have  realized  that  this  discordance  of 
their  natures,  of  which  I  was  at  that  moment  acutely  con 
scious,  had  in  it  the  seeds  of  a  future  battle — an  epic  strug 
gle,  with  the  White  House  and  the  Capitol  for  its  head- 


ENTRANCE  INTO  POLITICS  131 

quarters;  the  world  for  its  audience;  and  the  destiny  of 
the  nations,  following  the  greatest  war  in  history,  the  prize 
that  was  staked  on  the  issue. 

I  was  then,  in  fact,  aware  only  that  I  was  seated  be 
tween  two  men  of  strong  and  mutually  unsympathetic 
natures ;  and  that  they  seemed  equally  to  feel  this  natural 
antagonism.  Wilson  revealed  it  by  his  request  that  he  be 
allowed  to  speak  last:  he  plainly  wished  to  study  his  rival 
before  he  made  his  own  oratorical  appearance.  Borah 
was  even  more  palpably  depressed  by  the  presence,  at  the 
same  table  with  him,  of  this  strange,  new,  powerful  per 
sonality,  whose  glittering  intellect  and  polished  manner 
were  so  strikingly  contrasted  with  his  own  blunter,  though, 
in  their  way,  also  powerful  weapons  and  character.  The 
Senator  was  so  disturbed  by  this  impact  with  Wilson's 
personality  that  his  own  speech  of  the  evening  fell  far 
below  his  usual  high  standard.  He  himself  was  so  deeply 
impressed  with  this  deficiency  that  twice  afterward  he  re 
called  to  me  his  comparative  failure  of  that  evening. 
These  two  men  thus  seemed  predestined  to  a  combat  which 
with  natures  so  intense  and  powerful  could  be  nothing 
less  than  mortal.  When,  in  1920,  Wilson  lost  (as  I  be 
lieve,  only  for  the  moment)  his  gallant  campaign  for  the 
League  of  Nations,  and  fell  truly  a  soldier  stricken  on  the 
field  of  battle,  partly  because  of  blows  that  were  dealt  by 
Senator  Borah,  I  could  not  but  revert  in  memory  to  the 
vivid  picture  of  that  evening  in  New  York  in  1911,  when 
the  two  men  met  and  took  each  other's  measure. 

They  were  not  alone  in  this  measuring  of  mettle.  Gov 
ernor  Wilson's  speech  of  that  evening  was  a  revelation  to 
all  of  us  who  listened.  We  saw  in  him  a  man  of  lofty 
idealism,  and  a  knightly  spirit;  his  convictions  grounded 
on  the  secure  foundation  of  a  deep  study  of  governmental 
institutions,  and  of  the  history  of  the  human  race ;  his  po 
litical  philosophy  erected  symmetrically  upon  these  firm 


132  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

foundations;  its  facade  adorned  with  a  beautiful  concep 
tion  of  democracy  and  justice  as  the  ideals  of  political 
endeavour.  I,  for  one,  felt  that  here  truly  was  an  inspired 
leader  behind  whom  all  men  like  myself  could  range  them 
selves  and  know  that  their  efforts  to  advance  his  fortunes 
would  be  an  effective  participation  in  the  highest  form  of 
public  service. 

My  own  acceptance  of  his  leadership  was  instant  and 

^decisive.     I  asked  him  whether  he  was  really  a  candidate 

\  for  President  of  the  United  States,  and  told  him  that  I 

\  had  a  definite  object  in  asking  him  the  question.     I  was 

delighted  with  his  reply.     Looking  me  squarely  in  the 

eye,  he  said:  "I  know  a  great  deal  more  about  the  United 

/  States  than  I  do  about  New  Jersey." 

"Governor,"  I  said,  "my  object  in  asking  you  this  ques 
tion  was  to  offer  my  unreserved  moral  and  financial  sup 
port  of  your  candidacy." 

The  enthusiastic  impression  I  gained  upon  that  even 
ing  was  confirmed  and  strengthened  two  days  later,  when 
I  attended  the  dinner  of  the  National  Democratic  Club,  at 
which  the  Governor  was  again  a  guest  of  honour.  Here, 
again,  he  made  a  speech  that  was  heartening  to  all  who 
sought  leadership  in  the  struggle  for  the  regeneration  of 
America. 

/Let  me  remind  my  readers  what  the  political  situation 
was  in  1911.  That  situation  should  be  recalled  in  the 
light  of  the  preceding  fourteen  years.  In  that  period 
(which  began  with  the  election  of  William  McKinley  as 
President  in  1896),  the  United  States  had  passed  through 
one  of  the  most  momentous  epochs  in  its  political  history. 
The  election  of  McKinley  by  the  Republicans,  under  the 
leadership  of  Mark  Hanna,  marked  the  culmination  of 
thirty  years  of  materialistic  growth  in  this  country — three 
decades  in  which  the  energies  of  the  people  were  absorbed 
in  the  conquest  of  the  West,  in  the  building  of  our  gigan- 


ENTRANCE  INTO  POLITICS  133 

tic  railroad  system,  and  in  the  magician-like  creation  of 
our  stupendous  manufacturing  industries.  Pittsburgh 
was  almost  the  new  capital  of  a  new  nation,  with  its  mar 
vellous  development  of  iron  and  steel.  It  was  followed 
closely  by  the  great  manufacturing  centres  that  sprang  up 
in  New  York,  New  England,  the  Middle  West,  and  Ala 
bama.  Monstrous  fortunes  grew  up  over  night  from  the 
exploitation  of  our  natural  resources,  our  boundless  sup 
plies  of  coal,  iron,  oil,  zinc,  and  lead.  Masters  of  indus 
try,  like  Carnegie  and  Rockefeller,  amassed  gold  beyond 
the  wildest  dreams  of  even  gem-laden  Oriental  potentates. 
Masters  of  transportation  like  Commodore  Vanderbilt 
and  James  J.  Hill  created  new  empires  for  the  residence 
of  man,  and  gathered  to  themselves  princely  fortunes. 
Masters  of  finance,  like  J.  Pierpont  Morgan,  sat  at  the 
golden  headwaters  of  national  enterprise,  directing  the 
fertilizing  streams  of  credit,  and,  by  taking  toll  of  them  as 
they  passed,  accumulated  an  imperial  revenue.  Below 
these  men  were  nameless  thousands,  of  only  less  ability, 
aping  the  masters,  and  dipping  with  feverish  hands  into 
the  golden  flood.  Mingled  with  these  builders  were  pick 
pockets  of  finance,  pirates  of  promotion,  and  skulking 
jackals  of  commerce.  But — all  alike  were  money-mad. 
From  the  Morgans  and  Hills  and  Rockefellers  and  Car- 
negies,  who  wrought  with  far-seeing  vision,  down  to  the 
shopkeepers  and  smallest  manufacturers,  nine  men  in  ten 
were  absorbed  in  the  game  of  riches. 

Politics,  too,  had  become  infected.  Public  honours  were 
no  longer  heaped  upon  patriots  and  statesmen :  the  proud 
est  title  of  distinction  was  to  be  called  "a  captain  of  in 
dustry."  The  best  brains  of  the  country  had  been  drained 
out  of  the  public  service  into  business  life.  Men  who,  in 
other  days,  would  have  led  great  public  causes,  were  now 
presidents  of  great  corporations.  Their  intellects  were 
taxed  to  the  last  limit  in  the  fierce  struggle  of  competi- 


134  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

tion.  Their  characters  were  formed  and  hardened  into 
the  inflexible  will  and  ruthless  determination  of  com 
manders  of  vast  competitive  business  armies.  Men  like 
Morgan,  upon  whose  shoulders  rested  the  responsibility 
for  billions  of  invested  capital,  brooked  no  obstacle  that 
threatened  for  an  instant  the  security  of  these  vast  aggre 
gations  of  money,  nor  anything  that  would  stand  in  the 
way  of  their  continuous  return  of  pron%_> 

Such  gigantic  financial  operations  inevitably  affected 
those  inter-relationships  of  the  people  which  are  expressed 
in  law;  and  organized  government  soon  confronted  the 
danger  of  being  swallowed  by  organized  business.  By 
the  close  of  McKinley's  first  administration,  government, 
indeed,  had  become  practically  a  vassal  of  business,  little 
better  than  another  instrument  of  power  in  the  hands  of 
the  leaders  of  industry.  Legislation  was  bought  like  mer 
chandise;  lawmakers  and  administrators  of  law  were  cor 
rupted.  Politics  had  become  an  almost  disreputable  pro 
fession.  Lobbyists  of  the  most  odious  type  flaunted  their 
trade  publicly.  To  the  high-minded  elements  of  the 
community  it  seemed  as  if  the  nation  were  sliding  down 
the  declivity  of  destruction  to  share  the  fate  of  Rome. 

I  was  myself  fresh  from  this  seething  caldron  of  mater 
ialistic  competition,  and  I  knew  personally  the  men  and 
the  methods  of  Big  Business,  so  that  I  had  occasion  to 
appreciate  more  keenly  than  most  people  the  reality  of 
the  danger  which  confronted  the  nation. 

To  us  perplexed  political  idealists  the  country  over, 
who  looked  on  with  apprehension  at  this  death  grapple 
between  the  soul  of  the  people  and  the  ugly  octopus  of 
Big  Business,  the  appearance  of  Woodrow  Wilson  on  the 
horizon  seemed  a  very  act  of  Providence.  Here  at  last 
was  the  leader:  the  man  who,  thinking  our  thoughts,  shar 
ing  our  visions,  brought  to  us  the  promise  of  a  political 
personality  under  whose  banner  we  could  range  ourselves, 


ENTRANCE  INTO  POLITICS  135 

organize  our  enthusiasm,  and  take  fresh  hope  for  redemp 
tion. 

True,  the  Democratic  Party  organization  was  no  better 
than  the  Republican.  Nevertheless,  I  recalled  with  faith 
the  words  of  that  valiant  reformer,  Carl  Schurz,  who  years 
before  had  said: 

"Between  them  [the  old  parties]  stands  an  element 
which  is  not  controlled  by  the  discipline  of  the  party  or 
ganization,  but  acts  upon  its  own  judgment  for  the  public 
interest.  It  is  the  Independent  element  which  in  its  best 
sense  and  shape  may  be  defined  as  consisting  of  men  who 
consider  it  more  important  that  the  Government  be  well 
administered  than  that  this  or  that  set  of  men  administer 
it.  This  Independent  element  is  not  very  popular  with 
party  politicians  in  ordinary  times ;  but  it  is  very  much  in 
requisition  when  the  day  of  voting  comes.  It  can  render 
inestimable  service  to  the  cause  of  good  government  by 
wielding  the  balance  of  power  it  holds  with  justice  and 
wisdom." 

Here,  I  thought,  in  this  great  body  of  thoughtful  inde 
pendents  of  both  parties,  lies  the  hope  of  political  regen 
eration.  Woodrow  Wilson  is  the  only  man  in  either  party 
who  stands  out  clearly  for  the  things  which  all  of  us  hold 
dear.  If  we  can  introduce  him  to  these  men,  if  we  can 
lift  him  up  upon  a  platform  high  enough  to  permit  his 
ringing  words  to  reach  across  the  continent,  they  will  rally 
to  his  banner  as  we  have  done. 

It  was  from  these  motives,  and  in  this  splendid  hope, 
that  I  threw  myself  whole-heartedly  into  what  my  f riencjs 
had  called  a  "hopeless  cause."  Now  was  the  opportunity 
to  restore  idealism  to  our  government;  to  place  man,  as 
of  old,  above  the  dollar;  to  place  law  once  more  securely 
above  the  greed  and  personal  ambition  of  the  individual.  J 
America  was  very  dear  to  me!  I  had  come  to  her  an 
alien  by  race  and  speech;  she  had  thrown  wide  open  the 


136  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

door  of  opportunity  to  me;  I  had  been  free  to  find  satis 
faction  for  every  one  of  my  ambitions.  Surely,  the  ut 
most  I  could  do  in  her  service  was  little  enough  to  repay 
the  just  debt  I  owed  her. 

Let  me  return  now  to  the  dinner  of  the  National  Demo 
cratic  Club,  which  I  have  already  mentioned.  I  sat  at  a 
table  facing  the  guests  of  honour,  and  before  they  seated 
themselves  I  went  up  and  spoke  to  Governor  Wilson. 
On  a  sudden  impulse,  he  exclaimed:  "Come  along  with  me, 
I  want  to  introduce  you  to  someone."  He  led  me  to  an 
other  table,  and  there  I  had  my  first  meeting  with  Walter 
Hines  Page,  who  was  then  editor  of  the  World's  Work 
magazine,  and  who  was  destined  later  to  play  such  a  mo 
mentous  part  in  the  salvaging  of  civilization  while  acting 
as  President  Wilson's  Ambassador  at  the  Court  of  St. 
James's.  Wilson  and  Page  had  been  acquainted  for  many 
years  and  they  addressed  each  other  familiarly. 

"This,"  said  the  Governor,  laying  his  hand  on  my 
shoulder,  "is  the  Mr.  Morgenthau  I  talked  about  to  you 
this  afternoon.  Now  you  two  get  acquainted."  He  then 
returned  to  the  speakers'  table,  and  Page  spoke  to  me 
and  expressed  his  hearty  satisfaction  at  welcoming  "the 
latest  recruit  to  the  little  band  of  Wilson  adherents."  He 
invited  me  to  call  upon  him  at  his  place  of  business,  at 
Garden  City,  Long  Island,  for  a  longer  conference. 

Two  years  later  Page  and  I  recalled  this  scene,  under 
very  altered  circumstances.  I  stopped  in  London  on  my 
way  to  Constantinople.  There  I  found  Page  installed  in 
the  American  Embassy.  When  I  entered  his  private  of 
fice,  Page  had  cleared  his  room,  and  we  faced  each  other 
there  alone — Page  sitting  forward  on  the  edge  of  his 
chair,  his  elbow  on  the  table,  his  head  leaning  against  his 
hand,  and  with  the  most  quizzical  and  expectant  look  upon 
his  face.  I  said  to  him,  "Ambassador,  I  know  what  you 
are  thinking  about." 


ENTRANCE  INTO  POLITICS  137 

"Well,  what?"  he  challenged. 

"You  are  thinking,"  I  said,  "of  the  day  when  the  Gov 
ernor  of  New  Jersey  introduced  the  retired  financier  to 
the  magazine  editor.  That  was  only  two  years  ago;  and 
now  what  a  difference!  He  is  President  of  the  United 
States;  you  are  here  as  his  Ambassador  to  the  Court  of 
St.  James's;  and  I  am  his  Ambassador  at  the  Sublime 
Porte.  And  you  are  thinking  that  it's  mighty  funny." 

"No;  you're  wrong,"  said  he. 

"Then  what  are  you  thinking?" 

Still  giving  me  that  quizzical  look  over  the  top  of  his 
glasses,  and  dropping  his  voice  to  the  very  bottom  of  his 
diaphragm,  he  rumbled,  "I  was  thinking  it's  blanked 
funny!" 

Some  time  after  our  first  meeting  I  called  on  Mr.  Page 
at  Garden  City,  and  told  him  I  was  now  ready  to  immerse 
myself  completely  in  the  campaign;  and  some  months 
after  this  William  G.  McAdoo  invited  me  to  join  him  at  a 
luncheon  with  William  F.  McCombs,  who  was  then  in  full 
charge  of  Wilson's  campaign  for  the  nomination.  I  then 
agreed  to  subscribe  a  substantial  sum,  and,  also,  to  under 
take  raising  money  from  others.  They  accepted  both 
offers  gladly.  I  found  the  first  by  far  the  easier  to  make 
good.  To  redeem  the  second  was  a  very  different  matter : 
my  friends  in  the  business  world  looked  upon  me  almost! 
as  one  who  had  lost  his  reason.  "Why,"  they  asked  me, 
"should  any  one  who  has  property  be  willing  to  entrust  the 
management  of  the  United  States  to  the  Democratic 
Party?  How  can  a  reasonable  man  hope  for  Wilson's 
nomination  against  veterans  like  Bryan,  Clark,  and 
Underwood?  And  how  can  any  Democrat  hope  for  vic 
tory  against  the  intrenched  Republicans?" 

It  was  the  hardest  proposition  that  I  ever  undertook  to 
sell,  but  we  managed  somehow  to  meet  our  financial 
emergencies  as  we  came  to  them. 


138  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

Meanwhile,  the  other  candidates  were  busy.  William 
Jennings  Bryan  had  been,  for  years,  at  once  the  prophet 
and  the  Nemesis  of  the  Democratic  Party.  He  controlled 
its  national  machinery.  Thrice  he  had  led  it  to  defeat, 
and  now,  for  the  fourth  time,  he  aspired  to  lead  the  charge. 
Party  politicians,  who  knew  that  Bryan's  economic  here 
sies  were  fatal  to  the  party,  did  not  dare  call  together  the 
national  committee,  where  his  discipline  ruled  their  ac 
tions.  The  only  other  place  where  party  councils  could 
be  taken  was  in  the  National  Capitol.  For  this  reason,  the 
cloakroom  of  the  House  of  Representatives  became  the 
whispering  gallery  of  other  aspirants.  The  House  de 
veloped  two  candidates  for  the  nomination:  Champ  Clark, 
the  genial  Speaker;  and  Oscar  Underwood,  the  popular 
and  substantial  floor  leader  of  the  majority. 

Nevertheless,  we  adherents  of  Wilson  were  not  dis 
mayed.  Our  plan  of  action  was  to  secure  a  few  state  dele 
gations,  and,  for  the  rest,  to  concentrate  our  energies  upon 
creating,  through  the  press,  a  sentiment  among  the  Demo 
cratic  masses,  which,  we  hoped,  at  the  end  would  prove 
irresistible  in  the  Convention. 

/-^The  first  great  test  of  our  success  (and,  what  was  more 
important,  of  Wilson's  capacity  to  grow  to  national  stat 
ure)  came  on  the  occasion  of  the  Jackson  Day  dinner  at 
Washington  on  January  8, 1912.  This  classic  festival  of 
Democracy  has,  every  quadrennium,  a  special  and  a  sol 
emn  significance  for  candidates  for  the  Presidency.  It  is 
somewhat  like  the  opening  day  of  the  Kentucky  Derby  at 
Louisville,  when  the  favourite  horses  are  led  out  before  the 
first  race  for  the  inspection  of  the  spectators.  A  seat  at 
this  dinner  is  as  much  prized  by  Democratic  politicians  as 
a  grandstand  seat  is  at  the  races.  The  candidates  and 
their  managers  are  as  much  excited  as  are  the  horse  owners 
and  their  trainers.  Upon  the  showing  made  at  this  pre 
liminary  try-out  depends  much  of  the  crystallization  of  the 


ENTRANCE  INTO  POLITICS  139 

sentiment  amongst  the  politicians  in  favour  of  one  special 
candidate. 

Our  first  experience  with  this  dinner  was  a  disappoint 
ment.  We  men  who  were  active  in  Governor  Wilson's 
behalf  had  our  headquarters  at  the  New  Willard  Hotel; 
and  we  had  gone  there  a  day  earlier  to  make  arrangements 
for  more  than  one  hundred  of  the  leading  Democratic 
politicians  and  citizens  of  New  Jersey  who  were  coming 
on  to  Washington  the  next  day,  to  back  up  Wilson's  aspi 
rations.  Imagine  our  dismay  when  we  found  that,  of  the 
sixty-five  tickets  for  the  dinner  to  which  New  Jersey  was 
entitled,  fifty  had  been  given  to  Mr.  Nugent  instead  of  to 
Mr.  Grosscup,  the  chairman  of  the  state  committee.  Mr. 
Nugent  was  one  of  Governor  Wilson's  bitterest  oppo 
nents,  and  well  enough  we  knew  that  we  could  not  get 
back  the  tickets  from  him. 

News  of  this  blow  came  to  me  at  11  o'clock  at  night, 
just  as  I  was  turning  out  my  light  preparatory  to  retir 
ing.  My  telephone  rang.  I  heard  the  excited  voice  of 
Judge  Hudspeth,  the  national  committeeman  from  New 
Jersey,  exclaiming:  "Come  right  over  to  our  room!  We 
need  you  at  once!"  "But,"  I  protested,  "I  am  just  get 
ting  into  bed  for  the  night."  "Haven't  you  learned  yet," 
he  cried  impatiently,  "that  politicians  never  sleep?" 

Reluctantly,  I  got  back  into  my  clothes  and  went  to  his 
rooms.  There  I  found  McCombs,  Congressman  Hughes, 
Mr.  Grosscup,  Joe  Tumulty,  and  others.  They  were 
angry  at  the  miscarriage  of  the  tickets,  which  they  attribu 
ted  to  trickery;  and  gloomy  at  the  thought  of  the  poor 
showing  we  would  make  to  our  hundred  and  more  friends 
from  New  Jersey  who  were  coming  down  to  the  dinner, 
and  who  would  charge  us  with  lack  of  influence  in  the 
higher  councils  of  the  party. 

I  turned  the  situation  over  in  my  mind  while  they  were 
giving  vent  to  their  indignation,  and  said : 


140  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

"I  think  I  see  a  way  to  turn  this  mishap  into  a  victory. 
Let  us  arrange  an  overflow  dinner  for  Mr.  Wilson's  friends 
exclusively,  and  give  him  an  opportunity  to  show  his  ap 
preciation  of  their  presence,  and  to  get  their  inspiration." 

This  idea  of  a  separate  dinner  at  the  Shoreham  Hotel 
was  a  happy  thought,  for  at  the  main  dinner  at  the 
Raleigh  not  more  than  fifteen  diners  were  really  friends  of 
Wilson.  It  was  a  discouraging  outlook  for  a  man  who 
_faced  the  ordeal  of  trying  to  win  an  audience.  The  over 
flow  meeting  solved  this  difficulty.  It  gave  him  the  en 
couragement  of  an  enthusiastic  greeting  from  a  large  body 
of  his  friends  before  he  had  to  face  the  unsympathetic 
audience  at  the  main  gathering. 

The  morning  of  the  day  of  the  dinner  Governor  Wilson 
came  to  Washington  and  went  into  conference  with  Dud 
ley  Field  Malone,  Franklin  P.  Glass  of  Alabama,  and  my 
self  at  a  luncheon  in  his  room.  He  was  confronted  with 
a  serious  problem.  The  newspapers  of  that  very  day 
were  full  of  the  letter  he  had  written  to  Adrian  H.  Joline, 
in  which  he  had  been  guilty  of  that  famous  indiscretion  of 
saying  that  "William  Jennings  Bryan  should  be  knocked 
into  a  cocked  hat."  As  we  sat  at  luncheon  about  twenty 
reporters  were  waiting  outside  for  Mr.  Wilson  to  give 
them  an  explanation  of  this  letter.  It  might  have  the 
gravest  political  consequences.  Bryan  was  still  the  mosi  ' 
powerful  politician  in  the  party,  and,  though  he  was  not 
able  to  gain  the  nomination  for  himself,  he  could  easily 
keep  any  other  man  from  getting  it.  Wilson  was  deeply^ 
concerned  to  find  a  way  out  of  this  difficulty;  but  though 
he  was  greatly  worried,  I  can  still  recall  with  what  keen 
appetite  he  attacked  a  big  steak  and  plateful  of  vegetables, 
while  he  asked  for  our  suggestions.  He  listened  to  us  all, 
and  then  he  said : 

"Now,  let  me  bare  my  mind  to  you.  What  did  I  really 
mean  when  I  wrote  that  letter?  I  have  always  admired 


ENTRANCE  INTO  POLITICS  141 

Mr.  Bryan  as  a  clean-thinking,  progressive  citizen.  I 
have  always  admired  his  methods  of  diagnosing  the  trou 
bles  and  difficulties  of  the  country.  But  I  have  never 
admired,  nor  approved,  his  remedies.  What  I  really 
meant,  then,  was  that  his  remedies  should  be  knocked  into  \ 
a  cocked  hat." 

We  then  discussed  the  means  by  which  this  explanation 
should  be  given  to  the  public.  We  finally  agreed  that 
Wilson  should  not  give  it  through  the  press,  but  should 
wait  until  the  Jackson  Day  dinner,  that  evening,  to  make 
his  explanation.  Malone  then  went  outside  and  told  the 
reporters  our  decision. 

In  the  meantime,  we  had  heard  that  Bryan  was  not 
really  much  annoyed  at  Wilson,  because  he  realized  that 
the  men  who  were  trying  to  injure  Wilson  were  trying  to 
injure  him  also.    Hence  we  sent  an  emissary  to  Bryan  tol 
ask  whether  he  would  be  willing  to  speak  at  our  overflow  | 
dinner,  and  though  he  declined  the  invitation,  he  did  soy 
graciously. 

The  main  dinner  that  evening  at  the  Raleigh  was  at 
tended  by  more  than  seven  hundred  eager  politicians  from 
all  parts  of  the  country.  It  was  an  exciting  occasion  for 
everyone,  and  an  occasion  of  special  apprehension  for  us, 
because  it  was  Wilson's  debut  in  national  politics. 

About  midway  of  that  dinner  Wilson  slipped  away 
from  the  speakers'  table,  and  drove  over  to  the  Shoreham. 
There,  our  happy  gathering  of  a  hundred  had  been  kept 
entertained  and  enlivened  by  speeches  from  Tumulty, 
Dudley  Malone,  and  others.  When  Wilson  arrived,  he 
found  an  audience  eager  to  be  charmed,  and  it  put  him 
upon  his  mettle.  He  gave  a  very  happy  speech ;  and  when 
he  left,  to  return  to  the  Raleigh,  there  were  cheers  and  feli 
citations  ringing  in  his  ears.  It  put  him  in  fine  feather 
for  his  masterly  effort  of  the  evening  at  the  main  dinner. 

Here  I  had  an  opportunity  to  observe,  at  very  close 


142  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

range,  one  of  the  most  interesting  spectacles  of  my  whole 
experience.  At  the  speakers'  table  sat  Senator  O'Gorman, 
the  toastmaster  of  the  evening.  At  his  right  was  William 
/7ennings  Bryan,  the  ever-hopeful  leader  of  the  Demo 
crats,  who  was  playing  each  of  the  important  candidates 
against  the  other,  in  the  hope  of  killing  them  all  off,  and 
securing  the  nomination  himself.  There  sat  also  Under 
wood  and  Clark  and  Foss  and  Hearst  and  Marshall. 
Pomerene  was  there,  as  the  representative  of  Governor 
Harmon  of  Ohio,  and  Judge  Parker,  happily  forgetting 
his  defeat.  Each  man  knew  that  this  moment  was 
charged  with  fateful  destiny.  As  each  one  made  his 
speech,  I  could  see  the  others  taking  his  measure,  and 
watching  the  crowd  of  diners  to  divine  its  reaction. 
Bryan,  as  the  patriarch  of  the  candidates,  was  to  make  the 
last  address  of  the  evening.  It  was  to  be  his  opportunity 
for  a  great  oration  that  would  restore  to  him  the  mastery 
of  the  party. 

Wilson  was  the  last  speaker  to  precede  him.  When  he 
arose,  there  was  a  brief  applause  of  politeness,  with  an 
extra  short  outburst  from  the  little  handful  of  fifteen  ad 
herents.  Every  speaker  who  had  gone  before  him  had 
talked  of  party  harmony.  Wilson  seized  the  opportun 
ity  of  this  text  to  clear  up,  with  one  masterly  stroke,  the 
dilemma  of  the  "cocked  hat"  story.  After  a  few  happy 
remarks  of  acquiescence  in  the  plea  for  harmony,  Wilson 
turned  to  Mr.  Bryan  and,  with  a  "really  Chesterfieldian 
gesture,  said:  "If  any  one  has  said  anything  about  any  of 
the  other  candidates,  for  which  he  is  sorry,  now  is  the  time 
to  apologize,"  and  made  a  smiling  bow  to  the  Commoner. 

The  audience  broke  into  spontaneous  and  sincere  ap 
plause  at  this  stroke.  They  appreciated  both  its  manli 
ness  and  its  cleverness;  and  they  sat  up  with  really  ex 
pectant  attention  to  hear  the  rest  of  his  address. 

Wilson  rose  to  his  opportunity.    His  speech  revealed 


ENTRANCE  INTO  POLITICS  143 

to  these  men  a  new  power  in  the  party.  He  made  a  splen 
did  exposition  of  the  issues  before  the  country,  and  gave 
his  vision  of  the  remedies  with  beautiful  eloquence  and 
unanswerable  logic.  The  audience  progressed  from  rapt 
attention  to  enthusiasm. 

All  this  time  I  was  watching  the  face  of  Bryan.  I  have 
never  seen  a  more  interesting  play  of  expression  on  the 
stage  than  the  exhibition  which  he  unconsciously  gave. 
Here  was  the  rising  of  a  new  political  star,  which  he  well 
knew  meant  the  setting  of  his  own.  His  face  expressed  j 
in  turn  surprise,  alarm,  hesitation,  doubt,  gloom,  despair. 
When  Wilson  took  his  seat  amidst  tremendous  applause 
Bryan's  face  was  that  of  a  man  who  had  met  his  Waterloo. 
He  rose  like  one  who  was  dazed,  and  made  a  speech  of  ab 
dication.  He  said  that  the  time  had  come  when  a  new 
man  should  be  nominated,  a  man  who  was  free  from  the 
asperities  of  the  past,  and  that  he  was  willing  to  march  in 
the  ranks  of  the  party,  and  work  with  the  rest  of  us  to  help 
on  this  victory,  which  he  saw  assured.  He  then  started  to 
sit  down,  but  everyone  applauded  so  vigorously,  shouting 
"Go  on!  Go  on!"  that  he  became  confused.  For  once, 
his  political  sagacity  forsook  him:  he  did  not  realize  that 
he  should  stop.  He  regained  his  feet,  and  made  a  sad 
anti-climax  by  telling  the  diners  stories  of  his  observations 
in  the  Philippines  and  elsewhere.  The  evening  was  an 
Wilson  triumph. 

The  effect  upon  Wilson's  fortune  was  instantaneousri 
The  next  morning  our  little  headquarters  was  the  MeccaJ 
of  the  politicians.  Congressmen  and  Senators  and  mem-/ 
bers  of  the  National  Committee  streamed  to  our  rooms  at' 
the  Willard.  Some  came  to  pledge  us  their  support  of  I 
Wilson ;  others  to  take  the  measure  of  his  managers.  Of^ 
the  latter  class,  Senator  Stone  of  Missouri  was  the  most' 
interesting.  We  saw  then  how  he  had  earned  his  titled 
"Gum  Shoe  Bill."  He  dropped  in,  so  he  said,  for  just  a 


144  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

minute's  conversation,  as  Mrs.  Stone  was  waiting  for  him 
in  the  lobby,  where  he  had  promised  to  rejoin  her  in  a  few 
minutes.  He  stayed  for  more  than  half  an  hour.  He 
spent  that  time  telling  us  a  very  humorous  story,  which 
would  be  worth  retelling  on  its  merits  if  it  were  printable. 
It  dealt  with  several  whimsical  characters  in  a  little  town 
in  the  Ozarks,  and  he  told  it  with  all  the  rich  embroidery 
of  characterization  and  dialogue  with  which  the  best 
Southern  story  tellers  elaborate  their  narratives.  It  was 
really  a  little  masterpiece  of  the  raconteur's  art,  but  it  had 
no  pertinence  to  our  serious  business.  I  soon  became 
aware,  however,  that  Stone  himself  had  a  serious  purpose. 
All  the  while  he  was  spinning  his  story  out,  to  make  it 
longer,  his  eyes  were  stealing  from  one  face  to  another  of 
his  auditors,  shrewdly  appraising  their  reactions,  studying 
each  of  them  to  learn  what  he  could  of  their  characters  and 
foibles.  When  he  finally  drew  the  story  to  its  close, 
sprung  the  "nub,"  and  got  a  round  of  laughter,  he  left,  as 
I  felt  sure  at  the  moment,  with  a  pretty  definite  estimate 
of  each  of  us  in  his  head. 

The  extraordinary  success  of  Wilson's  Jackson  Day 
speech  had  its  evil  effects  as  well.  It  made  other  candi 
dates  realize  that  the  man  each  of  them  had  to  beat  was 
Wilson.  Thus,  all  the  politicians  centred  their  attacks 
on  him.  They  ceased  their  efforts  to  take  delegates  away 
from  one  another,  and  allotted  to  each  candidate  an  undis 
puted  field  in  the  territory  where  he  could  help  to  make  a 
showing.  Their  plan  was  to  prevent  Wilson  from  com 
ing  to  the  Convention  with  a  large  pledged  vote. 

In  the  meantime,  we  devoted  our  efforts  to  making  Wil 
son  popular  among  the  Democratic  press  and  masses, 
building  up,  throughout  the  country,  a  sentiment  which 
made  him  the  second  choice  in  nearly  every  section  where 
a  favourite  son  got  a  preference  with  the  delegates.  Our 
greatest  fear  was  that  one  of  the  two  strongest  candidates 


ENTRANCE  INTO  POLITICS  145 

might  yield  his  strength  to  the  other  in  the  hope  of  defeat 
ing  Wilson. 

Fortunately  for  us,  the  logic  of  the  situation  made  our 
strategy  also  the  best  strategy  for  Bryan.  He  and  his 
brother,  with  their  keen  political  sense,  were  playing  ex 
actly  the  same  game  as  we  were.  The  result  was  that 
every  candidate  came  to  the  Convention  with  his  full 
strength,  and  a  determination  to  use  it. 

We  had  other  troubles.  Repeatedly  we  faced  financial 
difficulties,  and  many  times  the  few  men  of  means  among 
us  had  to  go  down  into  their  own  pockets  to  make  up  the 
deficiency.  I  had  to  do  so  myself,  and  I  leaned  heavily 
on  devoted  friends  of  Wilson,  like  Cleveland  H.  Dodge, 
Charles  R.  Crane,  and  Abram  I.  Elkus.  Then,  too,  there 
were  personal  differences.  I  shall  never  forget  when 
Dudley  Field  Malone,  with  his  high-powered  tempera 
ment  and  his  high-flown  oratory,  burst  into  my  office,  ex 
claiming,  "I  come  with  a  message  from  a  King  to  a  King!" 

"Come  to  earth,  talk  English,"  I  responded. 

"Well,"  he  said,  "the  Governor  has  sent  me  to  ask  you  > 
to  investigate  the  row  between  McCombs  and  Byron  New 
ton.     He  wants  you  to  settle  the  matter  without  his  inter 
vention." 

I  sent  for  Newton  first,  to  get  his  version  of  the  trouble ; 
and  when  he  called,  he  was  so  unbridled  in  his  language 
and  so  sweeping  and  illogical  in  his  accusations  against 
McCombs — he  gave  me  an  ultimatum  that  either  he  or 
McCombs  must  be  instantly  displaced — that  I  did  not 
wait  to  hear  the  other  side  of  the  story,  but  promptly  de 
cided  in  McCombs's  favour.  I  concluded  at  once  that  Gov 
ernor  Wilson  could  not  afford,  at  that  critical  moment,  to 
expose  himself  to  the  charge  of  being  ungrateful  toward 
McCombs,  who,  notwithstanding  his  shortcomings,  had 
rendered  him  invaluable  services. 

At  last  came  the  great  days  of  the  Convention.     We 


- 


146  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

\ 

went  to  Baltimore  with  less  than  half  enough  pledged  dele 
gates  to  secure  the  nomination.  Our  hopes  lay  in  the 
splendid  impression  that  Wilson  had  made  upon  the 
country,  and  in  the  generalship  we  should  exercise  upon 
the  floor  of  the  Convention.  The  odds  were  all  in  favour 
of  Champ  Clark.  He  had  better  than  a  hundred  more 
pledged  delegates  than  Wilson,  and  the  ground  swell  of 
the  politicians  in  his  favour.  Still,  we  were  not  daunted. 

There  were  elements  in  our  favour.  The  Baltimore  Sun, 
chiefly  through  the  enthusiasm  of  Charles  H.  Grasty,  cre 
ated  an  atmosphere  of  Wilson  optimism  in  the  city  that 
had  an  undoubted  effect  upon  the  delegates.  And  a  de 
termining  influence  with  many  delegates  and  the  public 
at  large  was  a  wonderful  editorial,  written  by  Frank  I.  j 
Cobb  and  published  in  the  New  York  World  at  the  psy 
chological  moment. 

The  supreme  opportunity  for  all  of  us  to  use  our  best 
talents  in  behalf  of  Wilson  came  at  the  dramatic  climax 
of  the  Convention  when,  on  the  third  day  and  with  the 
tenth  ballot,  Champ  Clark  received  a  majority  vote  of  the 
delegates.  Though  two  thirds  were  necessary  to  get  the 
nomination,  Clark's  adherents  thought  that  the  achieve 
ment  of  a  majority  marked  the  turn  of  the  tide  and  the 
assurance  of  victory.  They  had  sound  historical  warrant 
for  this  faith:  for  only  once  before  had  a  Democratic 
candidate  who  received  a  majority  of  the  votes  failed  to 
get  the  nomination. 

If  Clark's  managers  had  been  able  to  capitalize  that 
critical  moment,  their  candidate  might  have  gone  to  the 
White  House  eight  months  later. 

When  this  tenth  ballot  was  announced,  the  Convention 
greeted  the  Clark  majority  with  wild  enthusiasm.  What 
his  managers  should  have  done  was  to  have  pressed  this 
advantage  to  an  immediate  conclusion.  A  few  more  quick 
ballots  taken  under  the  emotion  of  that  moment  would 


ENTRANCE  INTO  POLITICS  147 

doubtless  have  carried  him  over  the  line  to  victory.  In 
stead,  they  wasted  the  opportunity,  and  the  Missouri  dele 
gation  organized  a  snake  dance  around  the  hall,  and  spent 
the  next  fifty-five  minutes  frittering  away  the  precious  en 
thusiasm  of  the  Convention  by  cheering  themselves  hoarse 
in  celebration  of  an  assumed  victory.  They  stimulated 
the  joy  of  Clark's  adherents  by  bringing  in  his  young 
daughter,  wrapped  in  an  American  flag,  and  placing  her 
beside  the  chairman.  This  pretty  picture  provoked  a 
fresh  outburst  of  triumphant  cheering. 

Those  fifty-five  minutes  cost  Clark  the  nominationT 
McCombs,  Palmer,  McAdoo,  and  the  rest  of  us  had  a  hur 
ried  consultation  on  the  platform,  not  ten  feet  away  from 
Ollie  James,  the  impartial  chairman,  who  did  nothing  to 
discourage  the  wild  demonstration.  We  agreed  on  a  plan 
of  campaign,  and,  as  lieutenants,  all  scurried  about  the 
hall,  consulting  with  the  leaders  of  the  other  delegates. 
We  got  the  Underwood  forces  to  agree  to  stand  fast  for 
their  candidate  on  the  next  few  ballots,  and  made  the  same 
arrangement  with  the  Marshall  and  Foss  delegates, 
pledging  ourselves,  in  turn,  to  hold  our  people  fast  for 
Wilson. 

In  three  quarters  of  an  hour  we  had  corralled  our 
delegates  safely  out  of  the  path  of  the  Clark  stampede. 
They  sat  immovable  in  the  face  of  the  frenzy  of  the  crowd. 
When  the  Clark  demonstration  had  subsided,  and  the  next 
ballot  was  taken,  the  Clark  managers  had  a  rude  awaken 
ing:  the  result  was  practically  unchanged.  Then,  with 
a  stroke  of  political  genius,  Mitchell  Palmer  arose,  and 
claimed  recognition  from  the  Chair.  Tall,  massive,  and 
extremely  handsome,  Palmer  was  at  the  height  of  youth 
ful  grace  and  vigour.  The  Chairman  recognized  him, 
and  Palmer  moved  an  immediate  adjournment  to  the 
following  morning.  Before  the  Clark  delegates  grasped 
the  meaning  of  this  manoeuvre  the  motion  had  been  put 


148  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

and  carried.  This  respite  gave  Clark's  enemies  a  full 
day  in  which  to  make  fresh  alliances  against  him,  and 
every  one  of  the  succeeding  thirty-five  ballots  cut  down 
his  vote  in  the  Convention. 

The  tide  had  turned.  Wilson's  strength  grew  steadily, 
because  as  soon  as  a  delegate  realized  that  his  own  candi 
date's  cause  was  hopeless,  his  thoughts  turned  from  his 
personal  preference  to  the  welfare  of  the  party,  and,  in 
almost  every  case,  he  realized  that  Wilson  was  the  one 
man  to  lead  it  on  to  victory.  They  realized,  too,  that  a 
solemn  duty  rested  on  them.  The  Roosevelt  defection 
from  the  Republican  Party  had  ruined  its  chances,  so  that 
these  Democratic  delegates  knew  they  were  not  merely 
nominating  a  candidate — they  were  actually  electing  a 
President. 

After  the  nomination,  the  preliminary  notification  fol 
lowed  at  Sea  Girt  a  few  days  later.  Here  again  was  an 
opportunity  to  study  human  nature.  Most  of  the  de 
feated  competitors  for  the  nomination  came  and  tendered 
their  hearty  congratulations.  But  Clark  came  like  one 
who  was  attending  the  funeral  of  his  hopes.  He  could 
not  master  his  disappointment,  nor  conceal  it.  His  de 
pression  lay  upon  the  gathering  like  a  cloud.  It  was  so 
palpable  that  Tumulty  saw  that  something  must  be  done 
to  lift  it,  else  the  proper  spirit  of  the  occasion  would  be 
destroyed.  Tumulty  then  came  to  me,  and  suggested 
that  Clark  be  taken  for  a  ride.  I  approached  Clark,  and 
invited  him  to  use  my  car.  He  accepted  and  asked  if  he 
might  go  anywhere  he  wished,  and,  of  course,  my  reply 
was,  "Certainly."  He  then  explained  that  his  daughter 
was  visiting  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  he  would  like  to 
see  her.  Filling  the  car  with  his  friends,  they  drove  away, 
with  my  son,  Henry  Morgenthau,  Jr.,  at  the  wheel. 

When  my  son  came  back,  he  had  a  broad  smile  on  his 
countenance.  "Where  do  you  suppose,"  he  exclaimed, 


ENTRANCE  INTO  POLITICS  149 

"Clark  asked  me  to  take  him?     His  daughter  is  staying 
with  George  Harvey's  daughter!" 

The  "George  Harvey"  to  whom  my  son  referred  was,~\ 
of  course,  Mr.  Wilson's  former  supporter  with  whom  he 
had  recently  had  a  much-advertised  disagreement,  and 
who  is  now  Mr.  Harding's  much-discussed  Ambassador 
in  London. 

Here  was  a  dilemma!  I  had  already  told  Governor 
Wilson  that  Clark  had  gone  to  visit  his  daughter,  and 
that  she  was  staying  with  friends  in  the  neighbourhood, 
and  he  had  said:  "I  shall  see  that  my  daughters  call  on 
her."  Now,  I  had  to  tell  him  who  "the  friends  in  the 
neighbourhood"  were.  When  I  did  so,  he  only  smiled, 
and  said:  "That's  rather  awkward,  isn't  it?" 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1912 

s  ^"W  TILSON'S  nomination  in  1912  was  equivalent  to 
%/%/  an  election.  The  split  in  the  Republican  Party 
T  T  made  this  a  foregone  conclusion.  They  forgot 
the  interests  of  the  country  in  a  bitter  internal  struggle 
for  the  control  of  their  party  machinery.]  Roosevelt, 
furiously  ambitious  to  regain  his  power,  was  pitted  against 
the  old  organization  bosses,  who  were  determined  to  re 
tain  possession  of  the  party.  Led  by  Penrose  they  were 
lost  in  an  implacable  rage  against  the  "rebel"  who  had 
once  unhorsed  them  in  the  party  councils.  To  them  the 
election  of  a  president  became  a  secondary  matter.  The 
supremely  important  issue  was  the  control  of  their  party 
machinery.  Penrose  and  his  fellow  bosses  felt  that  their 
future — their  very  existence  as  political  leaders — was  at 
stake.  If  Roosevelt  made  good  his  position,  that  the 
Independents  ought  to  continue  to  control  the  mechanism 
of  the  party  (as  they  had  controlled  it  during  his  tenure 
of  office) ,  what  did  it  profit  Penrose  and  his  kind  to  build 
up  their  state  machines,  only  to  be  balked  of  the  supreme 
prize  of  national  ascendancy?  They  would,  like  Othello, 

^find  their  occupation  gone.  With  the  fury  of  men  blinded 
by  hatred  and  ambition,  they  preferred  to  wreck  the 
party's  chances  for  the  next  four  years  if,  by  so  doing, 
they  could  destroy  the  Roosevelt  rebellion  against  their 
domination. 

I  really  felt  that  my  own  connection  with  the  campaign 
was  at  an  end.  With  the  Presidency  thus  secure  by 
reason  of  the  Republicans'  internecine  quarrel,  we  Demo- 


THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1912  151 

crats  were  in  the  position  of  a  plaintiff  who  had  simply  to 
go  through  the  formality  of  entering  judgment  by  default 
and  take  possession  of  the  Government  on  behalf  of  the 
people. 

I  had  never  participated  in  the  active  work  of  a  national 
campaign,  and  it  did  not  appeal  to  me  to  do  so.  The  offer 
made  me  by  McCombs  to  become  chairman  of  the  Finance 
Committee  I  had  promptly  declined,  as  I  thought  that  if 
I  had  anything  to  do  with  the  finances  of  the  National 
Democratic  Committee,  I  should  be  treasurer.  So  I  pre 
pared  to  spend  the  summer  in  the  Adirondacks.  But  the 
day  that  I  was  to  take  my  family  to  the  mountains  I 
motored  down  to  Sea  Girt  to  bid  Governor  Wilson  good 
bye.  The  Governor  had  not  yet  come  down  to  breakfast, 
and,  as  I  had  to  take  an  early  train  to  make  my  connec 
tion  for  the  mountains,  I  was  about  to  leave  when  word 
came  down  from  him  requesting  me  to  wait  a  few  minutes 
longer,  as  he  was  anxious  to  see  me.  Shortly  afterward 
he  came  down  the  steps,  as  sprightly  and  active  as  a  man 
of  thirty,  full  of  energy  and  determination.  When  I  told 
him  I  had  come  to  say  good-bye  to  him,  he  was  surprised 
and  concerned. 

<^This  is  a  great  disappointment  to  me,"  said  Governor 
Wilson.  "I  had  hoped  that  you  would  accept  the  position 
of  chairman  of  the  Finance  Committee.  This  is  a  new 
position  which  I  have  asked  the  National  Committee  to 
create  especially  for  you,  and  I  had  relied  upon  your  wil 
lingness  to  accept  it  and  render  me  a  great  service.5*) 

I  told  the  Governor  that  I  was  disinclined  to  be  merely 
a  money  collector,  and  unless  I  was  appointed  treasurer, 
or  a  member  of  the  Campaign  Committee,  I  should  not 
care  to  participate  in  the  campaign.  The  Governor 
answered: 

£Of  course  I  expect  you  to  be  a  member  of  the  Cam 
paign  Committee,  and  I  still  hope  that  I  can  persuade 


152  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

you  to  accept  the  chairmanship  of  the  Finance  Committee. 
My  idea  is  that  in  this  campaign  the  chairman  of  the 
Finance  Committee  will  have  to  perform  the  functions  of 
the  president  of  a  bank,  directing  the  large  financial 
policies  and  protecting  me  against  mistakes  of  accepting 
moneys  from  improper  sources.  The  treasurer  should 
correspond  to  the  cashier.  He  should  be  the  custodian 
of  the  funds  and  have  charge  of  the  clerical  and  book 
keeping  details/ 

"I  shall  insist  that  no  contributions  whatever  be  even 
indirectly  accepted  from  any  corporation.  I  want  especial 
attention  paid  to  the  small  contributors.  And  I  want 
great  care  exercised  over  the  way  the  money  is  spent. 
These  duties  will  call  for  an  unusual  degree  of  ingenuity 
and  resourcefulness.  I  would  not  ask  you  to  undertake 
this  task  if  I  didn't  think  you  had  the  imagination  to 
accomplish  it;  and  I  would  not  expect  you  to  accept  it  if 
I  did  not  think  it  would  be  interesting  to  a  man  of  your 
experience  and  ability." 

The  Governor  seemed  so  genuinely  concerned  and 
showed  so  clearly  that  he  dreaded  facing  another  financial 
canvass  after  the  frequent  worries  he  had  endured  from 
this  source  in  his  pre-nomination  fight,  that  I  could  no 
longer  resist.  I  accepted,  and  added: 

"I  shall  take  a  few  days  to  settle  my  family  in  the 
Adirondacks;  then  I  shall  return  and  get  to  work.  And 
now,  Governor,  having  accepted  the  responsibility,  I  want 
to  assure  you  that  you  may  dismiss  all  thoughts  of  finance 
from  your  mind  from  now  until  election." 

The  Governor  took  my  hand  and  held  it  while  he  said : 

"You  do  not  realize  what  a  load  you  are  lifting  from 
my  shoulders.  I  can  now  devote  myself  entirely  to  cam 
paigning  and  to  my  duties  as  Governor." 

I  considered  the  discussion  closed  and  was  about  to 
leave,  when  the  Governor  detained  me. 


THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1912  153 

"One  thing  more,"  he  said.  "There  are  three  rich  men 
in  the  Democratic  Party  whose  political  affiliations  are 
so  unworthy  that  I  shall  depend  on  you  personally  to  see 
that  none  of  their  money  is  used  in  my  campaign!" 

I  gave  him  my  assurance,  and  he  gave  me  their  names. 
This  was  the  only  occasion  on  which  I  discussed  finances 
with  Mr.  Wilson  from  that  day  to  this.  I  made  good 
my  promise  that  he  should  have  no  cause  to  think  again 
of  finances.  And  when  he  went  into  the  White  House  he 
went  without  obligations,  expressed  or  implied,  to  any 
man  for  any  money  that  had  been  contributed  during  the 
campaign. 

The  principal  reason  I  was  able  to  make  good  my 
promise  to  the  Governor  was  that  I  instituted,  for  the 
first  time  in  American  political  history,  a  budget  system 
both  for  collecting  the  funds  and  expending  them.  I 
called  to  my  assistance  Mr.  Raymond  B.  Fosdick,  a 
budget  expert;  and  in  consultation  with  the  members  of 
the  Democratic  National  Committee,  we  worked  out  an 
allotment  of  the  amounts  we  expected  from  the  various 
states.  We  then  worked  out  the  kinds  of  legitimate  ex 
penditures  which  we  would  encounter,  weighed  their 
relative  values,  and  allotted  to  each  its  corresponding  pro 
portion  of  the  money  we  expected  to  raise.  With  minor 
exceptions,  we  adhered  to  this  budget  throughout  the  cam 
paign;  and  we  had  the  great  pleasure  of  paying  every  bill 
in  full  before  the  first  of  the  following  January,  and  of 
having  $25,000  cash  balance  to  the  credit  of  the  National 
Committee  in  bank. 

My  financial  work  in  the  National  Committee  was 
novel  to  me  only  in  the  sense  that  it  was  managing  the  use 
of  money  in  a  new  field.  But  my  work  with  the  Com 
mittee  on  its  human  and  political  sides  was  an  entirely  new 
experience,  and  a  very  fascinating  one. 

On  the  human  side,  I  found  the  same  play  of  personal 


154  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

ambitions — of  jealousy  and  other  evil  passions — aroused 
by  the  prospect  of  advantage  in  politics,  that  I  had  seen 
aroused  by  the  prospect  of  material  reward  in  business. 
But,  on  the  whole,  the  human  picture  in  politics  was  as 
pleasant  as  it  was  interesting.  Our  headquarters  was,  to 
be  sure,  the  scene  of  the  ill-humoured  rivalries  of  Mc- 
Combs  and  McAdoo  and  their  adherents;  but,  on  the  other 
hand,  it  was  the  scene  also  of  the  touching  fraternal  de 
votion  of  "Joe"  Wilson,  whom  the  Governor  affection 
ately  called  "my  kid  brother,"  who  gladly  did  all  the  tasks 
that  came  to  hand  out  of  sheer  regard  for  the  Governor. 
The  delightful  friendships  that  I  formed  with  Hollo 
Wells,  Josephus  Daniels,  Joseph  E.  Davies,  Senator 
O'Gorman,  Hugh  C.  Wallace,  Homer  S.  Cummings,  and 
others,  were  a  source  of  enduring  pleasure.  We  all  soon 
fell  into  the  genial  habit  of  calling  one  another  by  our  first 
names — this  is  indeed  a  custom  of  the  National  Com 
mittee.  McCombs,  who  felt  somewhat  my  greater  age, 
began  calling  me  "Uncle  Henry,"  a  name  which  has  since 
stuck  to  me  in  the  familiar  conversation  of  most  of  my 
close  political  friends. 

\As  it  ultimately  turned  out,  the  headquarters  was  a 
proving  ground  for  coming  Cabinet  members,  senators, 
and  diplomats.  Josephus  Daniels  had  for  the  moment 
abandoned  his  paper  in  North  Carolina  and  come  to  New 
York  to  take  charge  of  the  national  publicity.  McAdoo 
dropped  his  business  temporarily  to  become  vice-chairman 
of  the  National  Committee  and  forward  the  Wilson  for 
tunes.  Congressman  Redfield,  discarded  by  the  local 
Democratic  organization  in  Brooklyn,  found  an  oppor 
tunity  for  usefulness  which  led  to  his  later  appointment  as 
Secretary  of  Commerce.  At  the  Chicago  branch  of  Na 
tional  Headquarters,  Albert  S.  Burleson  of  Texas  was  a 
field-marshal  of  our  growing  army.  Colonel  House  did 
not  take  an  active  part  in  the  direction  of  the  campaign^) 


THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1912  155 

he  was  then  only  in  process  of  attracting  Wilson's  con 
fidence  in  him  as  a  man  above  the  wish  for  personal  ad 
vancement. 

But  on  its  political  side  I  found  my  work  a  real  revela 
tion.  Perhaps,  indeed,  the  biggest  single  lesson  I  ever 
got  in  politics  I  got  through  the  contact  I  then  experienced 
with  William  Sulzer,  who  was  Democratic  candidate  for 
Governor  of  New  York.  This  experience  added  so  much 
to  my  knowledge  of  the  invisible  government  which  stands 
behind  government,  and  was  besides  so  picturesque  and 
dramatic,  that  I  think  it  worth  while  recounting  it  at 
some  length. 

One  morning  as  I  sat  at  my  desk  at  the  headquarters 
in  New  York,  an  odd  though  familiar  figure  was  ushered 
into  my  office.  I  had  known  William  Sulzer  for  perhaps 
twenty  years.  His  greatest  pride  was  his  resemblance 
in  face  and  figure  to  the  immortal  Henry  Clay.  This 
physical  resemblance  was  not  fanciful.  Sulzer  had  his 
high  forehead,  large  mouth,  and  deep-set  eyes — he  bore, 
indeed,  altogether  a  quite  remarkable  likeness  to  the  Sage 
of  Ashland.  He  had,  too,  the  same  long,  slender,  and 
loose- jointed  figure.  This  resemblance,  with  which  Na 
ture  had  endowed  him,  Sulzer  had  cultivated  with  assidu 
ous  care.  He  had  grown  a  long  forelock,  and  had  trained 
it  to  fall  over  the  forehead  after  the  Clay  style.  And  he 
had  cultivated  a  gift  for  ready  speech  into  as  near  an 
approach  to  the  eloquence  of  Clay  as  his  limitations  of 
mind  permitted. 

But  as  I  looked  up  at  him  that  morning  in  1912,  I  saw 
Sulzer  garbed  in  a  strange  departure  from  the  elegance 
with  which  Clay,  who  was  something  of  a  dandy,  was 
used  to  adorn  his  person.  Sulzer  was  made  up — it  is  fair 
to  use  this  theatrical  expression  because  Sulzer  was  evi 
dently  seeking  a  theatrical  effect — made  up  to  portray  the 
part  of  "a  statesman  of  the  people."  His  coat  was  of  one 


156  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

pattern,  and  his  vest  of  another.  His  baggy  trousers 
were  of  a  third.  The  gray  sombrero  which  he  always 
affected  was  rather  dingy;  his  linen  just  a  trifle  soiled. 
Familiar  as  I  was  with  Sulzer's  political  poses,  through 
our  acquaintance,  I  mentally  noted  the  skill  of  the 
morning's  costume  in  dressing  the  part  of  "a  friend  of 
the  people." 

Sulzer's  career  had  been  of  a  sort  possible  only  in  Amer 
ica.  A  native  of  New  Jersey,  the  son  of  a  Presbyterian 
minister,  a  graduate  of  Columbia  University,  a  man  of 
good  family,  good  mind,  and  good  education,  he  had  taken 
up  his  residence  on  the  lower  East  Side  of  New  York 
City,  had  joined  the  Tammany  organization,  and  had 
struck  out  boldly  for  a  great  political  career  in  those 
untoward  surroundings.  Despite  his  religious  heri 
tage,  he  had  been  greatly  impressed,  as  a  young  man, 
with  the  prophecy  of  a  clairvoyant  who  had  told  him 
he  should  be  Speaker  of  the  New  York  State  Assembly, 
Governor  of  New  York,  and  President  of  the  United 
States. 

Sulzer  had,  indeed,  made  considerable  progress  on  this 
path  of  political  advancement.  Elected  to  the  State 
Assembly  as  a  young  man  in  his  early  twenties,  he  quickly 
rose  to  prominence,  and  at  thirty  he  was  chosen  Speaker 
— the  youngest  man,  I  believe,  ever  to  hold  that  office. 
From  the  State  Assembly  he  was  sent  by  Tammany  to 
Congress,  and  now,  in  1912,  had  represented  his  district 
in  Washington  for  seventeen  years.  He  constantly 
"played  up"  to  the  Jewish  element.  The  ingratiating 
manner  which  he  carefully  cultivated  appealed  to  a 
people,  proud,  sensitive,  and  accustomed  to  a  lack  of  con 
sideration  from  officers  of  Government.  In  Congress  he 
was  indefatigable  in  the  interest  of  his  constituents;  and, 
on  the  whole,  his  attitude  on  public  questions  was  satis 
factory.  From  the  public  viewpoint  Sulzer  was  one  of 


THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1912  157 

the  most  respectable  of  the  Tammany  adherents.  From 
the  Tammany  viewpoint  he  was  "safe." 

The  nomination  of  Governor  Wilson  and  the  assurances 
of  Democratic  Party  success  in  the  national  campaign 
gave  Sulzer  his  great  opportunity.  From  the  Tammany 
leaders  came  covert  intimations  to  us  members  of  the 
Democratic  National  Committee,  that  we  would  be  per 
mitted  to  suggest  the  Democratic  candidate  for  Governor 
of  New  York.  Fortunately  we  realized  the  implications 
of  this  offer  and  declined  it.  It  meant,  in  substance,  that 
Tammany,  by  permitting  us  to  name  the  candidate  for 
Governor,  thereby  became  fully  affiliated  with  the  national 
campaign  and  would  be  in  a  position  to  demand,  after 
election,  special  consideration  in  the  distribution  of  Fed 
eral  patronage.  We  made  a  reply  which  did  not  offend 
Tammany  but  which,  on  the  other  hand,  left  us  entirely 
free  of  the  Tammany  entanglement.  We  said  that  we 
were  not  interested  in  taking  a  hand  in  the  state  situation ; 
that  we  endorsed  the  then  widespread  public  demand  for 
an  "open  convention"  to  nominate  the  Governor.  We 
suggested  that  Tammany  refrain  from  dictating  the  nomi 
nation,  so  that  the  Independents  of  New  York  would 
support  the  national  as  well  as  the  state  Democratic  ticket. 

The  Tammany  leaders  professed  to  accept  this  decision. 
The  state  convention,  when  held,  had  the  air  of  an  open 
convention.  They  cast  about  for  a  candidate,  and  settled 
on  Sulzer.  Without  inconveniencing  Tammany,  he  had 
been  able  to  make  something  of  a  reputation  as  a  political 
progressive.  He  had  professed  a  great  attachment  for 
social  reforms,  the  kind  which  Roosevelt  in  Washington 
and  Wilson  in  New  Jersey  had  made  popular.  He  had 
built  up  a  reputation  as  a  friend  of  the  common  man,  and 
in  New  York  he  was  still  "strong  with  the  East  Side." 
Tammany  manipulated  the  "open  convention"  at  Syra 
cuse,  and  Sulzer  was  nominated  for  Governor, 


158  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

I  had  followed  Sulzer's  career  with  a  good  deal  of  in 
terest.  Though  I  did  not  approve  of  his  capitalizing 
politically  his  friendship  for  a  racial  element,  I  felt,  never 
theless,  that  he  had  been  a  useful  public  servant;  and  he 
had  been  successful  with  me,  as  he  had  been  with  many 
other  political  independents,  in  making  me  believe  that 
he  was  sincerely  interested  in  the  cause  of  civic  reform. 
Consequently,  I  greeted  him  cordially. 

Sulzer  began  the  conversation  by  thanking  me  for  "what 
I  had  done  in  helping  him  and  bringing  about  his  nomina 
tion."  This  was  a  polite  generality  as,  of  course,  I  had 
had  no  hand  in  that  enterprise,  except  that  I  had  been  a 
party  to  the  "hands-off"  policy  of  the  National  Com 
mittee,  and  also,  that  I  had  shared  in  the  request  of  the 
Committee  to  McAdoo  not  to  accept  this  nomination  which 
some  of  his  friends  were  trying,  with  some  hope  of 
success,  to  secure  for  him.  We  had  felt  that  it  was  his 
duty  to  stay  in  the  national  campaign,  as  McCombs  was 
still  incapacitated  by  illness. 

Sulzer  then  went  on  to  express  the  wish  that  I  would 
be  of  use  to  him  after  he  was  elected.  He  spoke  in  glow 
ing  terms  of  the  reputation  Governor  Wilson  had  made 
by  his  reforms  in  New  Jersey,  and  expressed  an  ambition 
to  make  a  similar  record  as  Governor  of  New  York.  He 
confided  to  me  the  clairvoyant's  prophecy  of  his  future 
and  declared  that  he  believed  that  the  path  to  the  Presi 
dency  lay  in  championing  "the  cause  of  the  people." 

He  wanted  my  cooperation,  after  he  should  be  elected 
Governor,  in  formulating  plans  to  make  his  administra 
tion  a  success.  As  everyone  knows  who  is  experienced 
either  in  business  or  politics,  there  are  "subtleties  of  ap 
proach"  that  suggest  a  man's  real  meaning  without  his 
even  remotely  mentioning  the  true  subject  in  conversation. 
Sulzer's  remarks  were  of  this  nature.  I  saw  plainly  that 
lie  was  directing  my  thoughts  to  a  point  where  it  would 


THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1912  159 

be  possible  for  him  without  embarrassment  to  solicit  a 
subscription  to  his  campaign  fund.  I  wanted  to  save  the 
future  Governor  of  New  York  from  soliciting  a  subscrip 
tion,  and  consequently,  I  forestalled  his  intention  by 
voluntarily  handing  him  my  check  for  $1,000.  His  re 
sponse  to  this  action  was  in  keeping  with  the  amenities  of 
the  situation.  He  said :  "I  did  not  expect  that  from  you. 
I  don't  want  it,  because  you  are  doing  so  much  for  the 
National  Committee."  But  the  check  disappeared  into  a 
pocket  of  his  dingy  coat. 

In  the  meantime,  the  march  of  political  events  led  us 
on  to  Election  Day  and  victory.  Woodrow  Wilson  was 
triumphantly  elected  President,  with  a  Democratic  Con 
gress  behind  him.  The  political  ambitions  of  some  of  his 
managers  were  gratified.  McAdoo  became  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury;  Daniels,  Secretary  of  the  Navy;  Redfield, 
Secretary  of  Commerce;  and  Burleson,  Postmaster- 
General.  What  my  friends  a  few  months  earlier  had 
called  a  hopeless  cause  was  now  a  dazzling  success. 

In  April,  1913,  Senator  O'Gorman  telephoned  me  from 
Washington  that  he  had  been  requested  by  the  President 
to  offer  me  the  Ambassadorship  to  Turkey.  I  apparently 
astonished  him  when  I  told  him  please  to  thank  the  Pres 
ident  for  me,  but  that  I  would  not  accept.  O'Gorman, 
whom  I  had  known  for  many  years,  urged  me  to  come  to 
Washington  to  discuss  the  matter  with  him.  He  said 
that  I  had  no  right  to  refuse  such  a  tender  over  the  tele 
phone.  I  complied  with  his  request,  and  we  discussed  the 
matter  one  evening  until  well  past  midnight.  O'Gorman 
used  all  his  persuasive  powers,  and  told  me  that  it  seemed 
strange  that  I,  an  entire  newcomer  in  politics,  without  ever 
having  rendered  any  other  political  service,  should  have 
the  temerity  to  decline  to  be  one  of  the  President's  ten 
personal  representatives,  in  the  capacity  of  Ambassador 
at  one  of  the  important  Courts  of  Europe.  He  told  me 


160  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

that  the  President  was  very  much  disappointed  at  my 
decision ;  and  urged  me  to  see  him  personally,  and  explain 
to  him  my  reasons  for  declining.  He  said  he  knew  the 
President  was  very  anxious  to  avail  himself  of  my  services, 
and  thought  it  ill  advised  for  me  to  refuse  to  obey  what 
amounted  to  a  command  from  the  head  of  the  Govern 
ment.  I  called  on  the  President,  and  he  said : 

"I  want  you  to  take  the  Embassy  at  Constantinople.  I 
am  convinced  that  the  two  posts  that  demand  the  greatest 
intellectual  equipment  in  our  representatives  are  Turkey 
and  China.  Therefore,  I  am  particularly  concerned  to 
have,  in  these  two  countries,  men  upon  whom  I  can  abso 
lutely  rely  for  sound  judgment  and  knowledge  of  human 
nature.  This  is  the  reason  I  am  asking  you  to  take  the 
post  at  Constantinople." 

"If  that  is  the  situation,"  I  replied,  "I  should  much 
prefer  China,  although  it  is  only  a  ministership.  And  for 
this  reason:  the  Jews  of  this  country  have  become  very 
sensitive  (and  I  think  properly  so)  over  the  impression 
\  which  has  been  created  by  successive  Jewish  appoint 
ments  to  Turkey,  that  that  is  the  only  diplomatic  post  to 
which  a  Jew  can  aspire.  All  the  Jews  that  I  have  con 
sulted  about  your  offer  have  advised  and  urged  me  to 
decline  it.  Oscar  Straus  has  been  criticized  by  some  of 
his  co-religionists  for  accepting  a  second  and  even  a  third 
appointment  to  Constantinople.  I  don't  mind  criticism, 
but  I  share  the  feeling  of  the  other  Jews  that  it  is  unwise 
to  confirm  an  impression  that  this  is  the  only  field  for 
them  in  the  diplomatic  service." 

Mr.  Wilson's  reply  was  aggressive  in  manner  and 
almost  angry  in  tone. 

"I  should  have  hoped,"  he  said,  "that  you  had  a  higher 
opinion  of  my  open-mindedness  and  freedom  from  preju 
dice  than  this.  I  certainly  draw  no  such  distinctions,  and 
I  am  sorry  that  you  should  have  thought  so.  I  think  you 


THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1912  161 

will  agree  with  me  when  I  give  you  my  further  reasons 
for  this  choice.  In  the  first  place,  Constantinople  is  the 
point  at  which  the  interest  of  the  American  Jews  in  the 
welfare  of  the  Jews  of  Palestine  is  focussed,  and  it  is 
almost  indispensable  that  I  have  a  Jew  at  that  post.  On 
the  other  hand,  our  interests  in  China  are  expressed 
largely  in  the  form  of  missionary  activities,  and  it 
seems  quite  necessary  that  our  Minister  there  should  be 
a  Christian,  and  preferably  a  man  of  the  evangelical  type ; 
and  I  am  sincerely  anxious  to  have  you  accept  Turkey." 

Nevertheless,  I  remained  firm  in  my  refusal  to  accept 
the  offer,  and  told  the  President  I  would  have  to  find  some 
non-political  path  in  which  to  serve  the  people. 

As  I  left  the  President,  he  gave  me  a  look  which  is 
hardly  describable.  He  was  sadly  disappointed  that  he  had 
not  been  able  to  dominate  my  decision.  He  showed  a  deep 
affection  for  me,  and  it  was  evident  how  much  he  regretted 
that  his  arguments  had  failed  to  persuade  me.  On  the 
other  hand,  I  felt  sorry,  and  probably  showed  it  in  my 
face,  that  I  appeared  so  ungrateful  at  not  promptly  com 
plying  with  his  request,  and  abiding  by  his  judgment  that 
Turkey  was  the  best  place  in  which  I  could  serve  the 
country. 

Shortly  thereafter,  my  wife,  my  daughter  Ruth,  and 
I  embarked  for  Europe,  where  we  intended  to  spend 
the  summer.  While  at  Aix-les-Bains,  I  met  Ambassador 
Myron  T.  Herrick,  and  I  mentioned  to  him  that  I  had 
refused  the  Ambassadorship  to  Turkey.  He  told  me  that 
I  had  made  a  grievous  mistake,  and  probably  from  ignor 
ance  ;  that  I  did  not  comprehend  what  a  splendid  position 
that  of  Ambassador  was;  that  not  only  I,  but  my 
children  and  my  children's  children,  would  be  benefited  by 
my  having  held  such  a  position.  He  ended  by  urging  me 
that  if  I  still  could  obtain  the  post,  I  should  take  steps  to 
secure  it. 


162  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

My  friend,  Dr.  Stephen  S.  Wise  (of  the  Free  Syna 
gogue  of  New  York,  of  which  I  was  president),  was  then 
in  Paris.  I  wrote  him  about  the  matter,  and  asked  whether 
he  could  come  to  Aix-les-Bains  for  a  consultation.  He 
replied  that  he  had  but  three  days  left  in  Europe,  but 
that  if  I  would  start  to  Dijon  the  following  morning 
he  would  also  start  from  Paris,  and  we  should  both 
reach  Dijon  at  noon.  He  would  meet  me  at  the  station, 
and  we  could  have  four  hours  together  to  discuss  the 
matter  before  our  return  to  our  respective  bases. 

We  met  at  Dijon  as  arranged,  and  to  my  astonishment 
I  found  Wise  tremendously  anxious  to  have  me  accept  the 
position.  He  told  me  that  he  had  just  visited  Palestine, 
and  that  amongst  the  other  services  that  I  could  render  in 
Turkey,  would  be  a  great  service  to  the  Jews  in  Palestine. 
He  reminded  me  of  the  happy  experience,  in  the  same 
office,  of  Solomon  Hirsch,  of  Portland,  Ore.,  who  had 
been  president  of  his  congregation  in  that  city.  I  knew 
the  facts  of  that  experience  as  Mr.  Hirsch  was  the  uncle 
of  Judge  Samson  Lachman,  who  had  been  my  partner  in 
the  practise  of  the  law  for  twenty  years.  Dr.  Wise  urged 
me  with  all  the  force  of  his  eloquence  to  rescind  my 
declination. 

I  told  Dr.  Wise  that  I  would  be  back  in  America  in 
September,  and  if  the  position  had  not  yet  been  filled  at 
that  time,  I  would  reconsider  it.  On  the  strength  of  this 
statement,  Dr.  Wise  telegraphed  the  President  that  I 
would  accept.  Within  three  days  I  received  a  cable  from 
the  President,  again  tendering  me  the  position,  and  I 
accepted  it. 

Meanwhile,  on  January  1,  1913,  Sulzer  had  been  inau 
gurated  as  Governor  of  New  York.  A  few  weeks  before 
this  event,  some  of  the  leading  social  workers  of  New 
York  City  came  to  me  and  asked  me  to  secure  them  an 
opportunity  to  have  a  conference  with  the  President-elect. 


THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1912  163 

They  wished  to  put  before  him  the  kind  of  legislation  that 
would  be  required  to  carry  out  the  Social  programme  which 
they  had  been  largely  responsible  for  having  embodied  in 
the  Democratic  and  Progressive  platforms.  I  told  them 
I  did  not  see  how  the  President  could  do  much  in  this 
direction.  Most  of  their  plans  called  for  state  legislation, 
and  I  pointed  out  that  it  would  be  better  and  more  effec 
tive  for  them  to  meet  Governor  Sulzer.  I  offered  to  give 
a  dinner  at  my  house  in  New  York,  at  which  Governor 
Sulzer  would  be  the  guest  of  honour,  and  I  told  them  they 
might  give  me  a  list  of  the  people  whom  they  wished  to 
have  meet  him.  The  list  they  gave  me  included  the  best- 
known  social  workers,  such  people  as  Homer  Folks,  Owen 
R.  Lovejoy,  Mary  E.  Dreier,  Lillian  D.  Wald,  John  A. 
Kingsbury,  and  Edward  T.  Devine. 

Sulzer  accepted  my  invitation  readily  enough.  One 
reason  for  his  acceptance  became  apparent  when  I  heard 
that  the  state  printer  at  the  moment  was  pressing  him  for 
the  manuscript  of  his  inaugural  address,  which  he  had  not 
yet  written,  though  it  was  already  late  in  December. 
When  the  address  was  delivered  some  days  later  it  em 
bodied  in  his  own  language  many  of  the  thoughts  and 
proposals  that  were  put  forward  that  evening  by  the 
social  workers. 

After  the  dinner  the  party  adjourned  to  the  library,  and 
there  I  seated  Sulzer  in  a  big  carved  oak  chair,  facing  the 
others,  who  sat  in  a  semicircle  before  him.  Each  of  the 
guests  in  turn  made  a  presentation  to  the  Governor  of 
the  situation  and  needs  in  the  field  of  social  reform  in 
which  he  or  she  was  an  expert.  These  were  really  splen 
did  expositions  of  the  improvements  required  in  the  health, 
child-labour,  tenement-house,  and  other  laws.  When 
Sulzer  made  his  reply  to  their  addresses,  I  was  astonished 
at  the  grasp  he  displayed  of  the  principles  involved  in 
these  reforms,  and  at  the  eagerness  with  which  he  em- 


164  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

braced  their  advocacy.  It  really  seemed  as  if  he  were 
going  to  go  heart  and  soul  into  making  a  record  of  pro 
gressive  legislation  for  his  administration. 

I  was  not  less  delighted  when,  after  a  conference  a  few 
weeks  later  with  Messrs.  Folks,  Kingsbury,  and  Devine, 
concerning  the  most  important  of  these  reforms — the 
drastic  revision  of  the  health  laws — the  four  of  us  went 
up  as  a  delegation  to  see  Sulzer,  and  secured  his  hearty 
support.  The  situation  was,  that  the  health  laws  of  New 
York  State  were  being  administered  by  five  or  six  hun 
dred  health  boards  in  the  various  villages,  and  an  investi 
gation  had  shown  that  a  very  substantial  percentage  of 
the  health  commissioners  in  these  places  were  undertakers. 
We  proposed  a  centralized  state  health  board  headed  by 
a  state  health  commissioner.  Sulzer  agreed  to  back  the 
plan.  He  went  further  and  said  to  me:  "What's  more, 
you  may  name  the  Health  Commissioner."  We  there 
upon  returned  to  New  York,  and  my  friends  drew  up  a 
draft  of  new  laws  to  regulate  the  public  health.  This 
codification  was  enacted  by  the  legislature  at  Sulzer 's  in 
sistence,  and  has  since  been  adopted  by  more  than  thirty 
states.  We  agreed  that  Dr.  Hermann  M.  Biggs  was  the 
ideal  man  for  Commissioner,  and  I  asked  Sulzer  to  ap 
point  him.  He  then  hedged  on  his  promise  and  selected 
another  man,  though  Dr.  Biggs  was  later  appointed  and 
made  a  national  reputation  in  the  office.  Sulzer  did, 
however,  make  good  a  part  of  his  promise.  He  felt  it 
necessary,  for  political  reasons,  to  appoint  two  or  three 
men  of  his  own  choice  to  the  State  Board  of  Health,  but 
he  allowed  us  to  name  the  majority  membership. 

Sulzer's  administration  thus  started  auspiciously.  He 
saw,  what  every  other  shrewd  observer  also  saw:  the 
dazzling  opportunity  which  lay  before  any  politician  who 
stood  out  boldly  for  the  people  as  against  the  bosses,  and 
who  could  embody  this  independent  position  in  practical 


THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1912  165 

measures  of  reform.  The  lesson  of  Roosevelt's  career 
had  just  been  confirmed  by  Wilson's.  But  the  experi 
ences  I  am  now  narrating  ultimately  convinced  me  that 
Sulzer  did  not  have  the  courage  which  had  carried  these 
two  men  of  eminence.  He  "played  politics,"  and  got  no 
further  than  an  unconvincing  imitation  of  their  methods. 
He  continued  to  assure  us  Independents,  on  the  one  hand, 
that  he  was  whole-heartedly  converted,  and  that  he  had 
broken  entirely  with  his  past.  But  later  we  found  out 
that  he  was  at  the  same  time  assuring  his  friends  in  Tam 
many  that  "I  am  the  same  old  Bill."  He  tried  to  imitate 
Roosevelt's  success  in  another  direction,  in  building  up  a 
personal  "machine"  in  New  York  State  by  coquetting 
with  the  up-state  Independent  Democrats,  to  whom  he 
allotted  a  share  of  the  patronage  which  he  controlled. 

Ultimately,  of  course,  both  sides  found  him  out  for 
what  he  was.  When  they  did,  the  Independents  simply 
dropped  him.  Tammany,  however,  exacted  a  swift  and 
terrible  vengeance.  If  discipline  were  to  be  maintained 
within  the  wigwam,  not  even  the  appearance  of  open 
revolt  could  be.  tolerated,  and  Tammany  proceeded  to 
make  a  spectacular  example  of  Sulzer. 

Sulzer's  first  appearance  at  Albany  as  Governor  was 
not,  however,  a  shock  to  Tammany  alone.  Albany  is  like 
Washington  on  a  small  scale.  The  Governor's  mansion 
was,  traditionally,  not  only  the  office  of  the  chief  executive 
of  the  state,  it  had  been  likewise  the  social  centre  around 
which  revolved  a  sort  of  court  of  elite  society.  Heretofore 
every  governor  of  New  York  had  been  a  very  presentable 
social  figure,  and  they  had  all  maintained  at  the  executive 
mansion  an  atmosphere  of  social  distinction.  Sulzer  rudely 
overturned  this  tradition.  He  wished  in  every  possible 
way  to  dramatize  his  role  of  "friend  of  the  people."  Con 
sequently,  he  always  referred  to  the  executive  mansion  as 
the  "People's  House,"  and  ostentatiously  invited  all  who 


166  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

would  to  come  and  call  upon  him  in  it.  The  staid  Knicker 
bocker  society  of  Albany  was  aghast  at  the  sight  of 
throngs  of  what  they  termed  "the  rabble"  invading  the 
hitherto  exclusive  chambers  of  the  executive  mansion. 
Great  was  their  anger  toward  Governor  Sulzer.  They, 
too,  cherished  hopes  for  vengeance. 

In  the  meantime,  Sulzer  was  having  other  difficulties  in 
maintaining  his  role  of  independence.  One  day  he  tele 
phoned  me  to  come  up  at  once  to  his  rooms  at  the 
Waldorf-Astoria.  He  had  a  matter  of  great  importance 
to  discuss,  he  said,  and  we  could  talk  it  over  at  luncheon. 
When  I  arrived,  I  found  him  in  great  excitement. 

"The  powers,"  he  exclaimed,  meaning  Tammany,  "are 
trying  to  force  me  to  appoint  a  certain  man  chairman  of 
the  Public  Service  Commission,  and  I  am  refusing  to  do 
it  because  I  don't  think  it  a  proper  appointment.  But 
they  are  getting  very  angry  about  it,  and  I  don't  know 
what  to  do." 

I  told  him  there  was  only  one  thing  he  could  do  and  that 
was  to  continue  to  refuse  to  appoint  him.  9 

"But,"  complained  Sulzer,  "it  means  my  political  death 
if  I  don't  name  him." 

"Well,"  I  said,  "then  you  are  going  to  political  death 
anyway.  Because  as  surely  as  you  yield  to  them,  the 
public  at  large  will  become  even  bitterer  enemies  than 
Tammany.  On  the  other  hand,  if  you  at  least  prove  to 
the  public  that  you  have  the  nerve  to  stand  out  against 
the  organization,  they  will  come  to  the  rescue  and  stand 
firmly  behind  you." 

As  we  talked,  a  Tammany  leader  was  announced. 
Sulzer  had  him  ushered  into  his  bedroom  while  we  con 
tinued  our  talk  in  the  parlour.  Evidently  the  Tammany 
leader  was  waiting  for  his  final  decision,  for  at  length 
Sulzer  said: 

"Very  well,  I  will  go  in  there." 


THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1912  167 

He  went  into  the  bedroom  and  was  gone  for  more  than 
an  hour.  I  had  to  wait  so  long  that  I  grew  impatient  and, 
ringing  for  a  waiter,  ordered  my  luncheon.  As  I  ate,  I 
could  hear  the  voices  through  the  closed  door,  and  though 
I  could  not  distinguish  the  conversation,  it  was  violent,  for 
occasionally  I  could  hear  an  explosion  of  vocal  fireworks 
in  the  bedroom.  When  at  length  Sulzer  came  out,  his 
manner  was  one  of  excited  bravado.  Throwing  back  the 
tails  of  his  Prince  Albert  coat  and  assuming  the  Henry 
Clay  pose,  he  exclaimed,  "Well,  I  have  done  it!  I  have 
actually  defied  them!" 

And  he  added : 

"I  did  it  on  your  account  and  by  your  advice.  And  now 
you  have  got  to  do  me  a  favour." 

When  I  asked  what  this  meant,  he  replied:  "It  may 
come  to  this:  Murphy  may  press  me  so  hard  to  name 
somebody  else  whom  I  ought  not  to  nominate  that  I  may 
have  to  appoint  you  yourself  as  chairman  of  the  Com 
mission.  Even  Murphy  would  not  dare  to  prevent  the 
confirmation  of  the  appointment  of  the  chairman  of  the 
Finance  Committee  of  the  Democratic  National  Com 
mittee.  Will  you  accept  the  position  if  that  situation 
arises?" 

This  was  a  critical  test  of  my  willingness  to  serve  the 
cause  of  good  government,  as  I  had  every  reason  to  sus 
pect  that  President  Wilson  would  soon  offer  me  a  position 
of  a  much  greater  distinction  in  the  National  Government. 
But  I  was  so  wrapped  up  in  the  hope  of  achieving  political 
regeneration  in  New  York,  as  we  had  just  achieved  it  in 
the  nation,  that  I  did  not  hesitate. 

"If  I  can  keep  you  from  having  to  obey  orders  from 
Murphy  in  making  your  appointments,  I  will  even  do 
that,"  I  replied. 

Sulzer  thanked  me  warmly  and  then  added : 

"Now  you  must  do  me  one  other  favour." 


168  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

"What  is  that?"  I  inquired. 

"You  have  got  to  make  a  speech  at  my  birthday  dinner 
down  at  the  Cafe  Boulevard  to-morrow  night.  I  want 
you  to  show  that  you  are  back  of  me." 

"Governor,"  I  replied,  "I  will  make  that  speech;  but 
let  me  tell  you  now,  bluntly,  that  I  shall  say  there  what  I 
have  told  you  to-day,  that  I  shall  continue  to  back  you 
only  so  long  as  you  adhere  to  your  promises  to  us  to  be 
independent." 

"I  don't  care  what  you  say,"  said  Sulzer,  "if  only  you 
will  come  down  and  prove  that  you  are  behind  me." 

This  dinner  was  quite  a  dramatic  occasion.  The  old 
Cafe  Boulevard  was  the  Delmonico  of  the  East  Side, 
and  it  had  been  the  scene  of  many  a  Tammany  festivity. 
Sulzer  here  was  among  his  own  people,  and  this  gave  him 
the  feeling  of  confidence  which  came  from  having  his 
friends  around  him.  The  dinner  was  in  celebration  of 
his  fiftieth  birthday.  People  well  known  in  many  walks 
of  life  crowded  the  tables.  Sulzer  was  personally  still 
popular,  and  the  feeling  of  the  occasion  was  one  of  cordial 
good  wishes.  Not  only  were  his  life-long  friends  of  the 
East  Side  among  those  present,  but  such  other  Demo 
cratic  friends  as  Senator  Stone  of  Missouri,  Frank  I.  Cobb 
of  the  New  York  World ,  John  D.  Crimmins,  and  myself; 
and  even  representative  Republicans,  such  as  District 
Attorney  (later  Governor)  Whitman,  Judge  Otto  Rosal- 
sky,  Louis  Marshall,  and  Samuel  S.  Koenig,  were  among 
the  diners. 

I  resolved  to  take  no  chances  of  spoiling  my  speech, 
which  I  had  prepared  rapidly  but  with  great  care  the 
day  before.  So  when  I  arose,  I  read  it.  This  address 
made  a  local  sensation  at  the  moment.  It  was  called  by 
the  papers  "the  wish-bone  speech."  As  it  was  very  brief 
and  as  it  had  some  effect  on  the  political  situation  at  that 
time,  I  think  it  worth  quoting. 


THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1912  169 

"Governor,"  I  said,  "you  have  wished,  and  have  been 
training  all  your  life  to  be  a  leader  of  the  people ;  you  have 
wished  it  so  long  that  now  it  has  become  true,  and  we  want 
to  see  your  wish-bone  converted  into  back-bone,  for  you 
will  need  much  of  it. 

"You  are  now  at  the  head  of  a  mighty  host  that  is  march 
ing  onward  in  the  fight  for  good  government.  Picture  to 
yourself  the  thousands  behind  you  in  a  solid  phalanx, 
crowding  you  on  so  that  you  cannot  turn  back.  If  you 
fail  them  as  a  leader  the  march  will  still  proceed,  and  some 
one  else  will  be  chosen. 

"The  combat  is  to  be  fought  to  a  finish.  The  people 
have  discovered  how  near  they  were  to  losing  their  Democ 
racy,  how  both  great  parties  were  in  danger  of  falling  into 
the  control  of  designing  self-seekers  who  were  determined 
to  secure  control  of  the  Government  for  their  own  selfish 
ends.  At  Baltimore  it  was  determined  that  they  could 
not  control  the  National  Government.  It  was  you  who, 
as  presiding  officer  of  the  Convention,  gave  Mr.  Bryan 
the  opportunity  to  throw  the  victory  to  Mr.  Wilson. 

"At  Syracuse,  you  were  nominated  in  an  open  conven 
tion  to  lead  the  Democrats  of  this  state.  We  look  to  you 
to  be  the  Governor  of  the  Empire  State,  and  not  to  be 
the  agent  of  undisclosed  principals  who  hide  themselves 
from  the  public  view.  They  can  no  longer  govern  this 
country,  state  or  city;  and  no  office-holder  needs  to  be 
responsible  to  or  afraid  of  them. 

"There  is  but  one  master  who  will  last  forever  and  to 
whom  all  ought  to  bow,  and  that  is  enlightened  public 
opinion.  If  you  enlist  under  its  banner,  you  can  proceed 
unmolested  by  petty  tyranny,  and  the  harder  you  fight, 
the  greater  will  be  the  army  that  will  enlist  in  your  cause 
and  under  your  leadership.  You  are  to  be  envied  the 
opportunity  you  have  to  advance  the  cause  of  good  govern 
ment.  It  is  not  an  easy  task ;  your  opponents  are  numer- 


170  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

ous  and  trained  in  the  art  of  spiking  their  opponents' 
guns;  but  you  must  stand  up,  plant  yourself  firmly,  say 
ing:  'Come  one,  come  all.  This  rock  shall  fly  from  its 
firm  base  as  soon  as  I.' ' 

This  address,  with  its  unexpected  note  of  blunt  warning, 
became  the  key-note  of  the  evening.  The  other  speakers 
discarded  their  prepared  addresses  and  spoke  in  a  similar 
vein.  Sulzer  realized  that  he  had  to  meet  this  challenge, 
and  in  his  reply  he  pledged  himself  anew  to  the  cause  of 
the  people. 

"Long  ago,"  he  said,  "I  made  a  vow  to  the  people  that 
in  the  performance  of  my  duty  no  influence  would  control 
me  but  the  dictates  of  my  conscience  and  my  determi 
nation  to  do  the  right — as  I  see  the  right — day  in  and  day 
out,  regardless  of  political  future  or  personal  conse 
quences.  Have  no  fear — I  will  stick  at  that." 

These  were  brave  words.  But  Sulzer  proved  unequal 
to  their  promise.  All  he  did  was  to  go  far  enough  in  the 
surface  appearance  of  independence  to  rouse  the  Tiger  of 
Tammany  to  a  fury  of  vengeance. 

Tammany  soon  found  an  occasion  to  carry  out  this  in 
tention,  and  they  removed  Sulzer  from  his  ofHce.  This 
act  of  private  vengeance  cost  Tammany  four  years  of 
control  of  the  city  government  of  New  York,  for  Hen- 
nessy's  disclosures  made  the  public  eager  to  administer 
a  rebuke  to  Tammany,  and  this  rebuke  took  the  form  of 
electing  Mitchel  as  Mayor. 

The  Tiger's  opportunity  to  impeach  Sulzer  came  about 
in  this  way:  When  Sulzer  filed  his  sworn  statement  of 
campaign  expenses,  Tammany  scented  some  gross  dis 
crepancies  and  did  some  shrewd  detective  work.  The 
result  was  that  they  discovered  that  he  had  not  included 
in  his  list  of  contributions  the  $2,500  he  had  received  from 
Jacob  H.  Schiff,  nor  the  checks  of  several  others,  includ 
ing  my  own,  which  amounted  in  all  to  many  thousands  of 


THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1912  171 

dollars.  By  careful  investigation  they  had  established 
the  fact  that  he  had  not  applied  these  moneys  to  his  cam 
paign  expenses,  but  had  deposited  them  to  his  personal 
account  and  used  the  money  as  margin  with  a  Wall  Street 
broker  for  stock-market  speculation.  Thereupon,  Tam 
many  leaders  in  the  State  Legislature  arose  in  the 
Assembly  Chamber  and  impeached  William  Sulzer  of 
high  crimes  and  misdemeanours.  They  charged  him, 
among  other  things,  with  filing  a  false  statement  of  cam 
paign  expenses,  with  perjury,  and  with  the  suppression  of 
testimony;  and  demanded  his  dismissal  from  office.  The 
Assembly  sustained  a  motion  for  his  impeachment.  When 
I  returned  from  Europe  in  September,  1913, 1  found  that 
his  trial  was  in  progress,  and  I  was  summoned  as  a  witness 
to  testify  before  the  High  Court  of  Impeachment. 

It  would  take  the  pens  of  a  Macaulay  and  a  Swift  to  do 
justice  to  this  modern  burlesque  of  the  trial  of  Warren 
Hastings.  I  use  the  term  "burlesque"  in  no  sense  of  dis 
respect  toward  the  Court  and  its  setting.  The  dignity  of 
the  proceedings  was  almost  awe-inspiring.  But  the  de 
fendant  lent  no  such  exalted  interest  to  the  event  as  did 
the  romantic  figure  of  Warren  Hastings.  The  offences 
of  Hastings  had,  at  least,  the  dramatic  merits  of  their 
magnitude.  Burke's  indictment  of  him  was  a  recital  of 
crimes  worthy  of  the  treatment  of  a  Greek  tragic  poet. 
Hastings's  accusers  were  distressed  queens,  pillaged  treas 
ures,  and  suffering  peoples.  Burke's  plea  for  a  verdict 
was  an  appeal  to  the  conscience  of  mankind. 

By  this  comparison  the  Sulzer  impeachment  was  a 
travesty,  the  defendant  a  petty  misdemeanant,  and  the 
purpose  of  the  trial  a  spiteful  vengeance  on  a  rebellious 
henchman.  The  setting  of  the  Court,  however,  gave  the 
event  a  fictitious  dignity.  The  Senate  Chamber  at  Albany 
had  been  altered  for  the  occasion  by  the  state  architect. 
A  lofty  seat  had  been  provided  for  the  presiding  judge  of 


172  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

the  High  Court  of  Impeachment,  Judge  Edgar  M. 
Cullen,  who,  as  chief  judge  of  the  Court  of  Appeals,  pre 
sided  ex  officio.  Below  him  was  a  long  seat  for  the  asso 
ciate  judges.  Ascending  tiers  of  seats  were  provided  for 
the  forty-four  members  of  the  State  Senate  who,  with  the 
judges  of  the  Court  of  Appeals,  constituted  the  High 
Court  of  Impeachment.  Behind  Judge  Cullen's  chair 
the  entire  wall  of  the  room  was  hung  with  a  dark  red 
velvet  curtain  in  the  centre  of  which  was  emblazoned  the 
coat  of  arms  of  New  York  in  gold  embroidery,  flanked  on 
either  side  by  national  emblems.  At  one  side  of  the  court 
room,  places  were  provided  for  the  "Fourth  Estate,"  the 
gentlemen  of  the  press,  to  whom  Burke  had  made  so 
eloquent  an  appeal  on  the  greater  historical  occasion.  The 
public  balcony,  which  at  the  Hastings  trial  had  been 
crowded  with  the  Sarah  Siddonses  and  the  haut  ton  of 
London,  was,  here  at  Albany,  crowded  with  the  vengeful 
Knickerbocker  aristocracy,  who  had  come  to  gloat  in 
triumph  over  the  final  discomfiture  of  the  demagogic 
desecrator  of  the  executive  mansion.  The  Edmund  Burke 
of  the  Sulzer  impeachment  was  Edgar  T.  Brackett,  late 
of  the  New  York  Senate.  Alton  B.  Parker  and  John  B. 
Stanchfield  were  the  chief  counsel  of  the  managers  for  the 
Assembly  which  had  presented  the  indictment,  but  Brack 
ett  was  the  man  who  made  the  oratorical  impeachment. 
Sulzer  stood  upon  the  prerogative  of  early  precedents  and 
refused  to  make  a  personal  appearance  before  the  Court. 
In  compliance  with  a  judicial  ruling  he  abstained  from 
functioning  as  Governor  while  the  trial  was  in  progress 
and,  instead  of  facing  his  accusers,  spent  his  time  in  a 
frantic  but  futile  effort  to  make  political  combinations 
that  would  save  him. 

Witness  after  witness  testified  to  Sulzer's  solicitation 
of  contributions  for  which  he  had  made  no  accounting. 
My  testimony  was  only  confirmatory  of  a  mass  of  evidence 


THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1912  173 

elicited  from  men  of  eminence  like  Jacob  H.  Schiff  and 
many  others.  I  appeared  before  the  Court  on  September 
24,  1913.  Replying  to  questions  from  the  prosecutor,  I 
repeated  the  conversation  I  had  had  with  Sulzer  when  I 
gave  him  my  check  for  $1,000,  and  I  also  testified  to  the 
fact  that  on  the  day  I  returned  from  Europe,  Governor 
Sulzer  had  telephoned  me,  "If  you  are  going  to  testify  I 
hope  you  will  be  easy  with  me" — to  which  I  answered  that 
I  would  testify  to  the  facts. 

The  verdict  of  the  court  was  "Guilty."  Sulzer  was 
shorn  of  his  high  office.  His  proud  hopes,  fostered  by  the 
soothsayer's  prophecy,  were  sadly  broken.  Knickerbocker 
society  had  its  revenge;  the  "People's  House"  became 
again  the  executive  mansion.  And  Tammany  had  its  ven 
geance;  it  had  crushed  its  rebel  henchman  and  given  all 
other  potential  malcontents  a  spectacular  object  lesson. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  SOCIAL  SIDE  OF  CONSTANTINOPLE 

THE  Senate  confirmed  my  appointment  as  Ambas 
sador  to  Turkey  on  September  4,  1913.  Soon 
afterward  I  went  to  Washington  to  familiarize 
myself  with  the  duties  of  my  office  and  to  receive  my  in 
structions.  A  new  Ambassador  is  allowed  thirty  days 
for  this  purpose.  Usually,  he  spends  them  in  the  State 
Department,  taking  a  sort  of  course  of  intensive  training. 
I  did  not  take  the  full  month  allowed  me.  The  Chief  of 
the  Division  of  Near  Eastern  Affairs  took  me  in  hand, 
and  in  a  series  of  conversations  outlined  to  me,  first,  the 
duties,  prerogatives,  and  privileges  of  an  Ambassador; 
and,  second,  a  general  survey  of  existing  relations  between 
Turkey  and  the  United  States.  Then  several  hours  were 
occupied  in  studying  the  methods  of  keeping  the  accounts 
of  the  Embassy,  and  of  handling  its  funds. 

I  found  this  period  of  preparation  intensely  interesting. 
It  was  to  be  crowned  in  October,  upon  a  second  visit  to 
Washington,  by  an  official  call  on  the  Secretary  of  State. 
I  looked  forward  to  this  visit  with  great  expectations. 
Alas  for  the  illusions  which  a  day  can  wreck!  William 
Jennings  Bryan  was  the  Secretary  of  State.  He  knew  no 
more  about  our  relations  with  Turkey  than  I  did.  The 
long-looked-f or  instructions  were  an  anti-climax.  They 
were,  in  full,  as  follows: 

"Ambassador,"  he  said,  "when  I  made  my  trip  through 
the  Holy  Land,  I  had  great  difficulty  in  finding  Mount 
Beatitude.  I  wish  you  would  try  to  persuade  the  Turkish 
Government  to  grant  a  concession  to  some  Americans  to 

174 


SOCIAL  CONSTANTINOPLE  175 

build  a  macadam  road  up  to  it,  so  that  other  pilgrims  may 
not  suffer  the  inconvenience  which  I  did  in  attempting  to 
find  it." 

Thus  fortified  by  the  Secretary's  complete  programme 
for  my  Ambassadorial  task,  I  set  forward  to  the  White 
House  for  a  farewell  call  upon  President  Wilson.  He 
bade  me  a  hearty  God-speed,  and  in  parting  gave  me  an  in 
junction  which  enabled  me  to  save  many  lives  in  the  next 
three  years.  "Remember,"  he  said,  "that  anything  y 
can  do  to  improve  the  lot  of  your  co-religionists  is  an  act 
that  will  reflect  credit  upon  America,  and  you  may  count 
on  the  full  power  of  the  Administration  to  back  you  up." 

Fortunately  for  the  success  of  my  mission,  I  had  a  most 
enlightening  conference  in  New  York  before  I  left.  At 
the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Alfred  E.  Marling,  who  was  one  of 
the  trustees  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Foreign  Mis 
sions,  I  had  an  interview  at  that  great  centre  of  missionary 
activity,  156  Fifth  Avenue,  with  a  large  group  of  earnest 
and  able  men,  who  could  speak  with  authority  on  the 
problems  I  should  confront  in  the  East.  I  learned  that 
five  of  these  men  were  to  cross  the  Atlantic  at  the  same 
time  I  should  be  crossing.  These  were  Doctors  Arthur 
Judson  Brown,-  James  L.  Barton,  Charles  Roger  Wat 
son,  Dr.  Mackaye,  and  Bishop  Arthur  Selden  Lloyd. 
These  men  were  the  leaders  of  the  Foreign  Mission  Boards 
of  the  Presbyterian,  Congregational,  United  Presbyter 
ian,  Methodist,  and  Protestant  Episcopal  Churches.  One 
of  them,  Doctor  Barton,  had  himself  been  a  missionary  in 
Turkey,  and  had  also  acted  as  President  of  the  Protestant 
College  at  Harpoot.  Another,  Doctor  Watson,  had  been 
a  missionary  in  the  Turkish  Protectorate  of  Egypt,  and 
his  parents  had  been  missionaries  for  half  a  century  at 
Cairo. 

I  had  engaged  passage  for  Europe  on  the  Imperator, 
but  when  I  learned  that  these  five  men  were  sailing  at 


176  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

nearly  the  same  time  on  the  George  Washington  (later 
to  become  famous  as  President  Wilson's  "peace  ship") 
to  attend  a  world  missionary  conference  at  The  Hague, 
I  asked  them  to  change  their  reservations  and  go  with  me. 
They  were  limited  in  their  expense  accounts  and  could  not 
change,  so,  emulating  Mohammed,  I  "went  to  the  moun 
tain"  and  changed  to  their  ship.  The  voyage  gave  me  an 
opportunity  to  gain  from  them  a  fuller  picture  of  the  work 
of  the  mission  boards,  which  was  very  helpful  to  me  in  my 
new  task. 

The  conversations  I  had  with  these  men  on  shipboard 
were  a  revelation  to  me.  I  had  hitherto  had  a  hazy  notion 
that  missionaries  were  sort  of  over-zealous  advance  agents 
of  sectarian  religion,  and  that  their  principal  activity  was 
the  proselyting  of  believers  in  other  faiths.  To  my  sur 
prise  and  gratification,  these  men  gave  me  a  very 
different  picture.  In  the  first  place,  their  cordial  cooper 
ation  with  one  another  was  evidence  of  the  disappearance 
of  the  old  sectarian  zeal.  They  were,  to  be  sure,  pro 
foundly  concerned  in  converting  as  many  people  as  they 
could  to  what  they  sincerely  believed  to  be  the  true  faith. 
But  I  found  that,  along  with  this  ambition,  Christian  mis 
sionaries  in  Turkey  were  carrying  forward  a  magnificent 
work  of  social  service,  education,  philanthropy,  sanitation, 
medical  healing,  and  moral  uplift.  They  were,  I  dis 
covered,  in  reality  advance  agents  of  civilization.  As 
representatives  of  the  denominations  which  supported 
them,  they  were  maintaining  several  hundred  American 
schools  in  the  Levant,  and  several  full-fledged  colleges,  of 
which  three,  at  least,  deserve  to  rank  with  the  best  of  the 
smaller  institutions  of  higher  learning  in  the  United 
States.  They  maintained,  also,  several  important  hos 
pitals.  And,  as  a  part  of  their  purely  religious  function, 
they  were  bringing  a  higher  conception  of  Christianity 
to  the  millions  of  submerged  Christians  in  the  Turkish 


SOCIAL  CONSTANTINOPLE  177 

Empire,  who,  but  for  them,  would  have  been  left  to 
practise  their  religion  without  the  inspiration  of  the 
modern  thought  of  the  West,  which  has  so  vastly  widened 
its  spiritual  significance. 

As  my  wife  and  youngest  daughter,  Ruth,  could  not 
accompany  me,  I  took  with  me  my  daughter  Helen,  her 
husband,  Mr.  Mortimer  J.  Fox,  and  their  two  sons  Henry 
and  Mortimer.  We  visited  London,  Paris,  and  Vienna 
on  our  way  to  Constantinople,  and  at  each  of  these  capitals 
I  paid  my  respects  not  only  to  the  American  Ambassador, 
but  to  the  resident  Turkish  plenipotentiary  as  well.  In 
doing  this  I  had  in  mind  two  things:  first,  to  accustom 
myself  to  the  looks  of  an  embassy  from  within,  as  I  had 
to  that  date  never  been  in  an  embassy  building  in  any 
country;  and  second,  to  secure  some  hints  upon  the  char 
acter  of  the  government  to  which  I  was  accredited,  in 
advance  of  my  first  formal  contact  with  it.  At  last,  on 
November  27,  1913,  we  rolled  into  the  railroad  station  at 
Constantinople. 

My  first  impression  of  the  famous  old  capital  of  Asia- 
in-Europe  was  of  a  moving  sea  of  silk  hats.  The  station 
platform  seemed  populated  entirely  with  frock-coated 
gentlemen  buried  under  these  chimney-like  black  head 
pieces.  After  some  confusion,  human  personalities  began 
to  emerge  from  under  them,  and  to  individualize  them 
selves  as  real  people  with  proper  names,  and  a  rational 
relationship  to  myself  as  another  human  being.  The  first 
to  greet  me  was  Mr.  Hoffman  Phillip,  who  as  Conseiller 
and  First  Secretary  of  the  Embassy  had  acted  as  charge 
d'affaires  during  Mr.  Rockhill's  visit  to  the  United  States. 

He  introduced  me  to  the  others,  and  after  a  somewhat 
bewildering  round  of  handshakings,  Phillip,  the  Foxes, 
and  I  stepped  into  a  carriage  and  were  driven  to  the 
Pera  Palace  Hotel,  where  Phillip  gave  us  a  Thanksgiv 
ing  dinner, 


178  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

The  Embassy  at  Constantinople  is  a  handsome,  marble, 
three-story  structure,  set  in  a  garden  surrounded  by  a 
high  wall,  and  overlooking  the  Golden  Horn.  Often 
during  my  first  days  there  I  would  find  myself  humming 
the  old  refrain,  "I  dreamt  I  dwelt  in  marble  halls."  There 
were,  to  be  sure,  no  "vassals  and  serfs  by  my  side";  but  I 
had  more  useful  assistants  in  my  official  staff.  Besides 
Mr.  Phillip,  there  were  second  and  third  secretaries,  and 
A.  K.  Schmavonian,  the  Turkish  legal  adviser  of  the 
Embassy.  He  was  the  permanent  attache — the  inter 
preter — and  was,  besides,  the  custodian  of  the  Embassy's 
traditions.  He  knew  every  American  interest  in  Turkey, 
had  carried  on  for  years  the  correspondence  with  the  con 
suls  and  the  missionaries,  and  hence  was  an  invaluable 
storehouse  of  information.  He  knew,  also,  all  the  Turkish 
officials;  the  ramifications  of  the  Turkish  governmental 
departments;  the  names  and  characteristics  of  the  leaders 
of  the  recent  revolution;  and,  of  course,  he  was  versed  in 
the  niceties  of  diplomatic  custom. 

Soon  after  my  arrival  I  observed  a  curious  phenomenon 
concerning  the  position  of  an  ambassador.  The  instinc 
tive  ambition  of  the  attaches  led  them  to  try  to  keep  the 
Ambassador  from  taking  an  active  hand  in  the  work  of 
the  Chancery.  It  was  explained  to  me  with  great  so 
lemnity,  that  the  business  office  of  the  Embassy  was  not 
like  other  business  offices;  that  its  operations  were  so  in 
volved  in  delicacies  of  diplomatic  usage  that  none  but  old 
hands,  trained  in  all  their  niceties,  were  competent  to 
handle  the  transaction  of  its  intricate  affairs.  All  details, 
I  was  informed,  should  be  left  to  those  accustomed  to 
handling  them.  I  made  short  work  of  this  mysterious 
nonsense.  Business  is  business,  and  details  are  the  sub 
stance  of  larger  concerns.  Therefore,  I  promptly  ac 
quainted  myself  with  the  records  of  the  Embassy  for 
several  years  preceding,  and  took  absolute  charge  of  its 


SOCIAL  CONSTANTINOPLE  179 

functions,  as  I  was  in  duty  bound  to  do.  The  mysteries 
faded  instantly.  Common  sense,  judgment,  and  energy 
are  the  desiderata  of  all  business  relationships,  and  I  found 
no  barrier  in  these  affairs,  because  of  their  so-called  diplo 
matic  nature. 

Other  American  ambassadors  have  complained  to  me 
that  their  subordinates  usurped  their  functions  in  this 
fashion;  and  I  know  of  some  who  have  occupied  the  most 
exalted  posts  in  Europe  and  never  penetrated  the  mys 
teries  of  their  Chanceries,  and,  consequently,  never  really 
functioned  as  ambassadors  at  all. 

As  my  wife  and  Ruth  had  not  accompanied  me,  their 
absence  relieved  me,  for  the  moment,  of  social  duties,  and 
gave  me  time  for  a  considered  survey  of  the  society  in 
which  I  would  soon  be  projected  as  an  active  member.  I 
realized  that  much  depended  upon  the  first  associations 
I  should  make  in  that  society,  and  I  needed  just  such  an 
opportunity  to  learn  by  indirection  the  composition  of 
it,  the  factions  into  which  it  was  divided,  and  the  cross 
currents  of  personality  and  interest  that  disturbed  it. 

The  "diplomatic  set"  at  Constantinople  was  a  little 
world  apart.  At  most,  its  members  numbered  a  scant 
hundred.  It  comprised  the  Grand  Vizier,  the  Premier 
and  his  Cabinet,  and  the  ambassadors  and  ministers  of 
other  governments,  with  their  principal  attaches.  Oc 
casionally,  there  were  added  to  this  intimate  circle  a  few 
leading  international  bankers  and  merchants  and  distin 
guished  tourists.  But  chiefly  we  consorted  with  our 
selves.  Our  intercourse  was  a  continuous  succession  of 
luncheons,  teas,  dinners,  and  formal  state  functions.  In 
such  a  constricted  society,  thrown  into  such  intense  com 
munication,  the  personal  equation  was  naturally  of  para 
mount  importance.  Ere  long,  I  had  occasion  to  use  every 
resource,  from  social  gifts  to  business  experience,  to  main 
tain  myself  in  this  society  of  shrewd  and  cultivated  men, 


180  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

all  of  whom  had  the  advantage  of  a  life-long  training  in 
diplomacy  and  in  the  intricacies  of  European  statecraft. 

My  first  concern,  therefore,  was  to  appraise  their  per 
sonalities.  I  recalled  a  piece  of  wise  advice  from  James 
Stillman  the  elder,  who  was  one  of  the  cleverest  American 
financiers.  He  told  me  that  when  a  man  confronted  a 
new  situation,  and  was  not  yet  sure  of  his  ground,  his 
safest  course  was  to  impress  his  adversaries  by  mystifying 
them.  I  adapted  this  advice  to  the  present  occasion.  I 
realized  that  the  diplomatic  corps  at  Constantinople  knew 
much  more  about  me  than  I  knew  about  any  of  them,  be 
cause  I  was  the  one  stranger  to  them,  and  they  were  many 
and  all  strange  to  me.  I  resolved  to  do,  as  nearly  as  I 
could,  directly  the  opposite  of  what  they  expected  of  me. 
For  one  thing,  they  had  fallen  into  the  European  habit  of 
imagining  that  all  successful  Americans  are  men  of  fab 
ulous  wealth,  and  they  credited  certain  absurd  stories 
about  my  supposed  intention  to  conduct  the  Embassy  on 
a  scale  of  lavish  expenditure,  designed  to  make  a  great 
social  impression.  Accordingly,  I  went  to  the  other 
extreme  and  managed  the  Embassy  very  modestly.  For 
some  weeks  after  my  arrival  I  did  not  even  use  an  auto 
mobile,  contenting  myself  with  a  carriage  and  a  pair  of 
Arabian  ponies. 

Further  to  play  the  role  of  mystifier,  I  obeyed  only  the 
letter  of  the  custom  which  prescribes  that  a  new  Ambas 
sador  shall  call  upon  the  other  ambassadors  after  he  has 
been  presented  to  the  Sovereign.  They  are  supposed  to 
return  this  call,  and  thereafter  the  newcomer  is  expected 
to  make  the  advances  to  his  elders  toward  a  more  intimate 
and  workable  acquaintance.  Instead,  I  remained  at  the 
Embassy  and  devoted  myself  to  the  business  of  the 
Chancery  and  did  some  watchful  waiting. 

These  tactics  were  rewarded  by  an  opportunity  to  enter 
the  society  of  the  diplomatic  corps  under  circumstances 


SOCIAL  CONSTANTINOPLE  181 

that  gave  me  the  advantage.  One  day  the  local  corre 
spondent  of  the  Frankfurter  Zeitung  called  upon  me  at 
the  Embassy.  This  was  Dr.  Paul  Weitz,  who  had  been 
a  resident  of  Turkey  for  more  than  twenty-five  years, 
knew  all  the  officials,  spoke  the  language,  and  understood 
the  subtleties  of  Turkish  psychology.  He  was,  in  reality, 
an  unofficial  attache  of  the  Embassy  and  a  secret  agent 
of  the  German  Government.  Dr.  Weitz  opened  the  con 
versation. 

"Mr.  Ambassador,"  he  said,  "I  have  gotten  the  impres 
sion  that  you  are  a  man  of  direct  methods.  For  this  rea 
son  I,  too,  shall  use  the  direct  method.  Frankly,  I  have 
come  as  the  emissary  of  the  German  Ambassador  and  the 
Austrian  Ambassador,  with  whom  I  had  luncheon  this 
very  day.  You  were  the  principal  topic  of  conversation. 
These  gentlemen  are  puzzled  by  your  attitude  and  they 
are  curious  to  learn  your  true  character.  They  have 
commissioned  me  to  find  out  these  things  for  them,  and 
I  have  preferred  to  come  and  ask  you  bluntly  rather  than 
to  follow  my  usual  method  of  finding  out  by  indirection. 
What  is  your  real  attitude?  Are  you  by  preference  a 
recluse,  or  are  you  playing  a  game?" 

"I  am  glad,"  I  replied,  "that  you  have  come  to  me  per 
sonally  with  these  questions,  especially  because  it  gives  me 
the  opportunity  to  send  a  direct  message  to  your  princi 
pals.  Please  be  good  enough  to  tell  them  for  me  that  I 
have  made  it  a  life-long  practice  never  to  make  the  first 
advances.  I  have  always  waited  for  the  advances  to  come 
from  the  other  side.  Therefore,  yw  -*  ?v  tell  "Their  Ex 
cellencies"  that  it  is  for  them  to  cl  >cM?  /Vihei*  vhey  wish 
their  relationship  with  me  to  cori.vin»ic  1 1  I;c  one  of  formal 
diplomatic  exchanges,  or  a  frank,  man-to-m.in  friendship. 
If  they  prefer  the  latter,  I  shall  be  delighted  to  meet  them 
halfway,  but  they  must  cover  the  first  half." 

Dr.  Weitz  readily  agreed  to  carry  this  message,  and  he 


182  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

was  so  pleased  with  the  frankness  of  my  conversation  that 
he  made  no  concealment  of  his  own  position.  He  went  on 
to  tell  me  that  he  was  a  confidential  adviser  to  the  German 
ambassadors,  and  frequently  was  commissioned  to  carry 
on  unofficial  negotiations  in  which,  for  reasons  of  delicacy 
or  of  policy,  it  was  not  advisable  either  that  the  Ambassa 
dor  should  appear  in  person,  or  that  he  should  make  use 
of  one  of  his  official  family.  He  explained  to  me  that  the 
reason  he  was  used  in  this  capacity  was  his  intimate  ac 
quaintance  with  Turkish  life  and  officials,  and  he  offered 
to  undertake  similar  commissions  for  me  at  any  time  I 
might  care  to  make  use  of  him.  For  obvious  reasons,  I 
never  availed  myself  of  the  offer. 

Dr.  Weitz  faithfully  repeated  my  message  to  the  Ger 
man  and  Austrian  ambassadors  who  afterward  told  me 
that  they  were  greatly  delighted  with  it.  The  very  next 
afternoon,  Baron  Wangenheim  paid  me  a  call;  and  the 
following  morning,  his  Austrian  colleague,  Marquis  Palla- 
vicini,  arrived  to  improve  my  acquaintance.  They  both 
greeted  me  in  the  spirit  of  my  message,  and  we  entered  at 
once  upon  an  acquaintanceship  which  removed  the  for 
mality  of  an  official  relation.  Both  of  them  were  very 
useful  to  me  during  my  first  weeks  in  Constantinople. 
The  Marquis  was  the  doyen  of  the  diplomatic  corps.  He 
was  a  nobleman  of  ancient  family,  had  grown  old  in  the 
diplomatic  service,  and  was  an  authority  on  every  point 
of  diplomatic  usage,  from  the  most  subtle  phrasing  of  a 
threat  of  war  to  the  refinements  of  precedence  in  placing 
guests  at  table  at  a  diplomatic  dinner.  In  this  latter 
direction,  indeed,  he  was  invaluable  to  me  in  teaching  me 
the  relative  rank  of  the  bewildering  array  of  officers  and 
title  holders  among  my  visitors. 

Baron  Wangenheim  I  have  described  at  great  length  in 
my  earlier  volume,  "Ambassador  Morgenthau's  Story." 
Unlike  Pallavicini,  who  was  quiet,  formal,  conventional, 


SOCIAL  CONSTANTINOPLE  183 

and  a  typical  diplomat  of  the  old  school,  Wangenheim  was 
a  perfect  representative  of  Prussia.  He  was  not  a  native 
of  Prussia — but  his  bearing  was  that  of  an  excitable  Hin- 
denburg.  He  was  a  man  of  great  stature,  in  the  prime 
of  life,  overflowing  with  physical  vitality,  energetic  in  per 
son,  opinionated  and  .positive  in  manner,  voluble  and  ag 
gressive  in  conversation,  somewhat  flirtatious,  proud, 
overbearing — he  was  Prussia  and  modern  Germany  em 
bodied. 

After  Pallavicini  and  Wangenheim  had  broken  the  ice, 
I  speedily  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  other  members 
of  the  diplomatic  corps,  and  their  characters  emerged  in 
my  mind  in  sharp  definition.  Sir  Louis  Mallet,  the  Brit 
ish  Ambassador,  was  a  fine  type  of  English  gentleman. 
He  exhibited  the  quiet  force  and  cultivation  which  one 
naturally  expects  from  a  member  of  the  English  upper 
classes.  Though  a  bachelor,  his  establishment  was  one  of 
the  most  magnificent  in  Constantinople.  Turkey  has  al 
ways  been  a  vital  point  in  British  policy,  and  the  British 
Government  has  spared  no  pains  to  make  its  public  ap 
pearance  there  correspond  with  the  splendour  and  import 
ance  of  the  British  Empire. 

The  French  Ambassador  was  M.  Bompard,  the  Rus 
sian  was  Michel  de  Giers.  These  men  also  adequately 
embodied  their  respective  countries,  the  one  in  its  ideals 
of  polished  politeness  and  clear  intellectual  grasp,  the 
other  in  its  ideals  of  imperial  pride  and  the  sense  of  power. 

Meeting  these  men  at  luncheon;  dining  with  them  and 
their  ladies  at  gorgeous  evening  functions,  where  the 
splendour  of  the  men's  uniforms,  the  brightness  of  the 
women's  costumes,  and  the  gayety  of  the  young  couples 
made  a  lively  scene  of  light-hearted  inconsequentiality ;  it 
was  hard  to  realize  that  they  were,  in  truth,  acting  the  part 
of  expectant  legatees  of  a  friendless  dying  man — sitting  at 
tea  in  his  parlour,  and  waiting  for  his  last  gasp  as  a  signal 


184  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

for  a  scramble  to  divide  his  property  among  themselves, 
They  frankly  told  me  (though  of  course  not  in  these 
words)  that  this  was  their  position.  In  their  eyes  the 
Sick  Man  of  Europe,  so  long  the  diseased  invalid  among 
the  nations,  was  now  really  dying.  They  had  no  hesita 
tion  in  discussing  their  ambitions  regarding  his  property. 
Giers  comported  himself  already  as  if  Russia  had  actu 
ally  attained  her  age-old  vision  of  capturing  Constanti 
nople — as  if  he  were  the  Governor  of  Russia's  new  capital 
city.  Sir  Louis  Mallet  did  not  conceal  the  interest  which 
his  government  had  in  everything  that  tended  to  insure 
the  safety  of  the  Suez  Canal.  Bompard  was  deeply  con 
cerned  to  secure  more  concessions  for  French  capital  in 
Turkey.  Even  the  Greek  Minister  talked  with  confi 
dence  of  an  approaching  Hellenic  confederation  which 
should  embrace  Smyrna  and  part  of  the  Asian  hinterland. 
There  was,  indeed,  considerable  reason  for  their  hopes. 
The  revolutionary  party  in  Turkey,  under  the  name  of  the 
Union  and  Progress  Party,  had  overthrown  the  Govern 
ment  and  had  taken  possession  of  the  country  in  the  name 
of  the  people.  Abdul  Hamid,  whom  Gladstone,  for  his 
atrocious  crimes,  had  dubbed  "Abdul  the  Damned,"  was 
now  shorn  of  his  power,  and  was  a  prisoner  in  a  palace, 
almost  within  sight  of  the  American  Embassy.  His 
throne  was  now  occupied  by  a  nominal  successor,  his 
brother,  Mohammed  V.  This  good-humoured  weakling, 
however,  enjoyed  only  the  shadow  of  power  and  none  of 
its  substance.  His  brother,  fearful  of  a  plot  to  overthrow 
him,  had  caused  his  successor  to  be  reared  in  a  manner 
that  totally  unfitted  him  for  the  exercise  of  authority. 
He  had  kept  him  secluded  from  society,  had  not  permitted 
him  to  learn  even  the  rudiments  of  history  and  statecraft, 
and  had  enfeebled  his  intellect  and  character  by  con 
stantly  exposing  him  to  the  temptations  of  self-indul 
gence.  He  had  placed  before  the  Heir  Apparent  all  the 


SOCIAL  CONSTANTINOPLE  185 

pleasures  of  life;  had  supplied  him  with  countless  wives, 
luxurious  food,  rich  wines,  and  all  the  other  ministers  of 
sensual  enjoyment.  Reared  in  such  atmosphere,  he  had 
grown  up  and  passed  the  prime  of  life,  ignorant  of  Gov 
ernment  affairs  and  without  any  chance  to  develop  his 
character.  Socially,  of  course,  he  was  a  charming  gentle 
man,  but  as  a  ruler,  he  was  hopelessly  incompetent. 

He  was,  indeed,  merely  the  figurehead  of  a  govern 
ment  whose  substantial  ministers  were  the  aggressive,  self- 
made  leaders  of  the  Committee  of  Union  and  Progress. 
These  were  men  of  native  shrewdness,  character,  and  cour 
age.  Their  political  leader  was  Talaat  Bey,  a  great  hulk 
of  a  man,  who  had  begun  life  in  the  humble  capacity  of 
porter  in  a  village  railroad  station,  and  who  had  advanced 
to  the  limits  of  his  social  prospects  when  he  had  achieved 
the  dignity  of  a  telegraph  operator  in  the  same  station. 
By  sheer  force  of  natural  genius,  however,  he  had  become 
a  political  power,  and  after  the  revolutionists  had  sprung 
their  coup  d'etat,  he  soon  rose  to  be  their  leader.  With 
their  success,  he  had  leaped  immediately  to  the  dazzling 
eminence  of  a  Cabinet  position,  and  was  then  the  chief 
of  the  Cabal  that  was  the  real  ruler  of  the  Empire. 

The  military  head  of  the  Young  Turks  was  E river 
Bey^,  a  handsome  and  dashing  young  officer,  who  had 
studied  his  profession  and  cultivated  the  social  graces  as 
military  attache  of  the  Turkish  Embassy  at  Berlin.  He 
was  now  Minister  of  War  and  in  control  of  the  Turkish 
Army — a  necessary  weapon  in  the  hands  of  Talaat  to 
maintain  the  Young  Turk  party  in  power.  Some  of  my 
foreign  colleagues  of  the  diplomatic  corps  assured  me 
that  these  two  men  were  the  real  power  in  Turkey.  They 
had  seven  associates,  all  men  of  great  influence,  and  all 
members  of  the  Committee  of  Union  and  Progress. 

The  personalities  of  these  men,  and  the  drama  of 
their  conflicting  ambitions  and  intrigues,  gradually  un- 


18G  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

folded  themselves  before  my  eyes.  It  was  like  sitting  at 
the  performance  of  a  fascinating  play,  only  this  was  more 
interesting  because  it  was  the  reality  of  life.  The  actors 
were  the  representatives  of  great  nations,  and  upon  the 
issue  of  this  dramatic  situation  rested  the  fate  of  millions 
of  people. 

The  experiences  of  my  first  few  weeks  at  Constantinople 
and  the  intensely  interesting  sensations  they  aroused  in 
me  can  best  be  conveyed  to  my  readers  by  reproducing  a 
few  of  the  letters  which  I  wrote  home  to  America  in  the 
excitement  of  these  moments.  The  first  I  shall  quote  was 
dated  December  23,  1913,  and  was  addressed  to  my  wife 
and  youngest  daughter: 

I  have  been  so  very  busy  that  I  have  not  written  for  a  few  days — 
so  I  will  tell  you  briefly  what  has  happened  since.  On  December 
20th  we  had  our  reception,  of  which  I  enclose  you  an  account — it  was 
really  splendid — no  one  can  describe  the  sensations  and  thrills.  I 
had  to  be  told  and  made  to  feel  that  I  was  the  head  and  responsible 
man  for  the  property  of  those  great  institutions,  managed  by  such 
soulful,  disinterested,  and  altruistic  people — it  makes  our  small  efforts 
in  New  York  appear  insignificant.  Think  of  a  small  determined 
"  band "  of  Americans  revolutionizing  with  educational  means  the 
Balkan  States — the  drops  of  water  they  kept  a-going  for  forty  or 
more  years  had  the  result  of  wearing  away  the  indifference  of  the 
Bulgar  and  roused  him.  Everybody  who  is  well-informed  admits  that 
Robert  College  deserves  the  credit  for  the  education  that  has  spread 
there. 

At  9:30  Mort  and  I  went  to  the  Scorpion  (the  gunboat  detailed  to 
guard  the  Embassy)  and  had  a  royal  reception  and  inspected  the  boat. 
On  Sunday  I  then  went  alone  to  the  college — but  I  feel  as  though  I 
wrote  you  all  this  so  I'll  skip  it — if  I  didn't  write  it,  I'll  tell  you 
about  it  when  you  are  here.  We  had  intended  to  go  on  the  Scorpion, 
but  instead  we  drove  to  the  Seven  Towers  of  Jedi  Kulet,  and  walked 
on  top  of  the  ramparts  and  then  for  one  hour  along  the  old  wall — 
it  was  a  bewitching  sight — the  sun  was  shining  brightly,  the  Marmora 
made  up  the  background,  and  the  twenty  or  thirty  towers  along  the 
wall  in  various  stages  of  decay,  with  the  moat  alongside,  made  a 


SOCIAL  CONSTANTINOPLE  187 

never-to-be-forgotten  impression  on  us  all.  As  usual,  Mortie  took  a 
number  of  pictures  and  Abdullah  guarded  us  most  carefully.  It 
takes  this  kind  of  absorption  of  the  history  of  a  country  to  teach  one 
what  these  people  really  are.  This  city  is  unquestionably  the  most 
favoured  by  nature  of  any  I  have  ever  seen.  It  excels  New  York 
and  San  Francisco. 

On  our  way  home,  we  stopped  to  inspect  the  Kahri  Jeh  Janisi 
Mosque — the  oldest  in  C. — it  was  formerly  a  Greek  Church  and  the 
paintings  of  Christ,  Saint  Mark,  the  old  Bible  heroes,  and  angels, 
etc.,  are  still  here  in  mosaic — much  finer  than  in  the  San  Marco  in 
Venice.  We  were  shown  through  by  an  old  Turk  who  could  give 
half-intelligent  descriptions  of  the  mosaics,  etc.,  in  English  and 
German.  We  wended  through  many  narrow  little  streets,  inhabited 
largely  by  Greeks,  and  it  was  a  most  interesting  sight.  It  was 
nearly  two  when  we  sat  down  to  dinner  and  none  of  us  complained. 

On  Monday  I  had  a  great  day.  In  the  morning,  representatives  of 
the  Austrian  Kultur  Gemeinde  called  to  invite  me  to  attend  their 
synagogue  and  visit  their  school;  they  instruct  about  300  children. 
I  agreed  to  do  so.  I  took  my  first  meal  away  from  the  house  at 
Tokatlian's — the  best  restaurant  here — had  Schmavonian  with  me. 
At  two,  we  were  at  the  Finance  Office  for  an  interview  with  Talaat 
Bey — who  is  acting  Secretary  of  Finance  as  well  as  Secretary  of  the 
Interior,  and  the  strongest  and  most  powerful  man  in  Turkey  at  pres 
ent.  I  am  already  on  good  terms  with  the  men  in  power.  We  had 
coffee  and  cigarettes  four  times  that  P.  M.  We  next  called  on 
General  Izzett — he  wore  a  shabby  uniform,  spoke  German,  and 
was  really  disconsolate — they  are  very  frank  people  if  they  talk 
at  all — he  made  some  very  confidential  communications  to  me. 
The  rumour  or  hope  has  gotten  around  that  I  may  prove  their 
Moses  who  will  lead  them  out  of  their  difficulties.  Let  us  hope  so; 
I'll  try  anyhow.  Next  we  called  on  Colonel  Djemal,  the  newly  ap 
pointed  Minister  of  Public  Works.  I  tried  to  dodge  the  coffee — but 
he  said  a  call  in  Turkey  without  coffee  is  no  call.  He  was  of  a  hope 
ful  temper  and  rather  dapper.  Then  we  called  on  Osman  Mar- 
dighian,  the  Postmaster  General.  He  speaks  good  English  and  is 
very  able — devotes  his  time  to  administrative  works.  When  I  got 
to  the  office,  I  had  to  dictate  a  few  despatches  and  say  good-bye  to 
Mr.  Phillip,  who  is  going  on  a  four  weeks'  leave  of  absence.  At  5 
o'clock,  the  Grand  Rabbi  and  his  Secretary  came — he  is  a  very  intel 
ligent,  nice,  youngish  man  of  forty  or  so — he  thinks  he  has  the  Red 


188  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

ticket  settled,  but  has  not  and  I  shall  have  to  help  in  disposing  of  it. 
While  he  was  upstairs,  Helen  discussed  the  White  Slave  traffic — 
babies  in  the  Hospitals,  etc.,  etc.  She  really  does  well  at  the  tea 
table.  It  is  a  picture  to  see  one  of  those  tea  scenes.  Helen,  Chief 
Rabbi  (addressed  as  His  Eminence,  as  he  ranks  with  the  Church 
dignitaries  of  the  rank  of  Cardinal),  Sir  Edwin  Pears,  Sir  Henry 
Woods  Pasha,  Rev.  Mr.  Frew,  the  Rabbi's  Secretary,  Schmavonian, 
Mort,  and  I;  and  I  have  to  listen  to  French  and  fortunately  am  be 
ginning  to  understand  it.  They  left  at  7 — I  worked  at  those  tele 
grams  until  7:30 — then  went  to  bed  for  a  nap  and  over-slept,  not 
wakening  until  8:25,  so  that  we  reached  the  British  Embassy  at  8:40, 
the  last  of  the  guests!  You  can't  imagine  my  feelings  as  I  was 
ushered  into  that  room  in  which  were  thirty  other  guests  including 
the  Grand  Vizier,  Talaat  Bey  and  three  other  Cabinet  Ministers,  the 
Wangenheims,  D'Ankerswaerd  and  other  Sirs  and  Ladies,  and  had 
them  all  look  me  over — when 

"  The  American  Ambassador  " 

was  announced.  I  felt,  "is  it  I  or  not?"  Then,  "Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Fox "  were  announced.  And  then,  "  Diner  est  servi.  "  I  took  in 
Madame  D'Ankerswaerd.  Escorted  her  to  her  seat  and  then  went 
to  the  other  side  of  the  table  where  I  was  seated  next  to  Baroness 
Wangenheim,  a  fine,  good  looking,  typically  aristocratic  German — a 
charming  conversationalist.  She  is  W.'s  second  wife — he  divorced 
his  first.  W.  is  a  great  personal  friend  of  the  Emperor.  Sir  Louis 
Mallet,  the  English  Ambassador,  sat  on  the  other  side  of  Baroness  W. 
After  dinner  we  smoked  and  drank  coffee  and  talked  to  others  than 
our  table  companions,  while  fifty  or  sixty  others  gathered  for  a  dance. 
Such  a  sight!  And  to  think  that  we  are  part  of  it — Young  Princes, 
Barons,  Sirs,  and  Americans  from  the  Embassies,  etc.,  and  lots  of 
Turks  and  Egyptians,  etc.  I  shall  never  forget  it.  Helen  sat  right 
opposite  me — between  Baron  Wangenheim,  all  be-decorated,  and 
Colonel  Djemal  (Turk)  in  full  uniform.  I  talked  with  Baroness 
Moncheur — we  have  struck  up  a  nice  friendship — with  Marquis 
Pallavicini — Talaat  Bey,  and  Miss  Wangenheim,  etc.,  etc.,  until  about 
12,  when  Wangenheim  asked  me  to  play  bridge  with  him,  a  Turk,  and 
a  Greek  banker — which  I  did  until  1 :30,  when  the  dancing  was  over 
and  they  all  went  in  for  supper,  etc.  (I  went  home)  and  then  they 
danced  again  until  2:30  or  so.  I  thoroughly  enjoyed  it,  I  am  not 
overstating  when  I  repeat  what  I  said  in  a  previous  letter — I  am 
very  glad  I  came. 


SOCIAL  CONSTANTINOPLE  189 

To-day — at  1 1 — a  call  from  the  Bulgarian  Minister.  In  the  after 
noon  I  finished  my  official  calls  on  the  Cabinet  Ministers — called  on 
Mahmoud  Pasha  of  the  Marine,  Ibrahim  Bey — Secretary  of  Justice, 
the  Dutch  Minister,  and  Mrs.  McCauley  (the  wife  of  the  comman 
der  of  the  Scorpion). 

Mesdames  Pallavicini,  Bompard,  Moncheur,  Wangenheim,  and 
Willebois  are  the  popular  and  fine  women  here,  and  they  are  out  of 
the  ordinary — you  will  like  all  of  them  and  they  will  like  you.  Pierre 
Loti  is  wrong,  so  far  as  this  winter  is  concerned — we  have  had  no 
cold  weather.  Yesterday  and  to-day  were  delightful — the  thermo 
meter  has  not  been  below  45°. 


On  the  same  day  as  the  foregoing,  my  daughter  Helen 
(Mrs.  Fox)  also  wrote  her  mother  a  letter  which  adds 
new  touches  of  colour  to  some  of  the  scenes  described  in 
mine.  She  wrote  as  follows : 


So  much  to  write  about!  Yesterday  afternoon  I  had  Mme.  de 
Willebois  and  Mme.  Eliasco  to  tea,  and  after  they  left  (Mme.  de 
Willebois  is  the  Dutch  Minister's  wife),  papa  sent  up  word  that  "  His 
Eminence  "  the  Chief  Rabbi  and  his  Secretary  were  here  and  would 
like  tea.  They  trotted  up,  and  His  Eminence  is  an  awfully  nice  soul, 
garbed  in  a  flowing  black  gouri  and  a  fez,  be-turbaned  in  white,  some 
thing  like  a  combination  of  a  Greek  priest  and  a  Hadja.  He  is  very 
learned,  especially  about  archaeology  as  related  to  the  Jews,  and  was 
interesting.  In  the  meantime,  Woods  Pasha,  Sir  Edwin  Pears  (a 
marvellously  interesting  man  and  English  lawyer  here),  and  Mr. 
Frew  (a  Scottish  minister  who  was  pastor  of  the  English  Church  in 
Constantinople)  arrived.  I  kept  thinking  how  interesting  they  all 
were,  but  would  they  leave  me  any  time  to  dress  for  dinner!  I  had 
been  to  Scutari  in  the  morning,  sightseeing  with  some  of  the  College 
faculty,  and  had  brought  them  home  to  luncheon.  Mr.  Frew  left  at 
7:30,  and  I  was  so  busy  trying  to  make  myself  gorgeous  that  I  com 
pletely  forgot  papa  who  fell  asleep  and  did  not  wake  up  until  8:15. 
The  dinner  was  at  8 :30.  Of  course,  we  were  all  blaming  each  other 
and  not  ourselves  and  tearing  around,  whistling  for  coats,  servants, 
etc.  We  finally  tore  up  to  the  English  Embassy  at  twenty  minutes 
to  nine.  Never  in  my  life  have  I  experienced  anything  so  wonderful. 


190  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

The  Embassy  is  very  large  and  imposing.  Two  marvellously  uni 
formed  cavasses  stood  at  the  door  inside,  where  powdered  footmen  in 
knee  breeches,  about  twenty  of  them,  were  also  stationed.  As  we 
came  to  the  stairs,  the  second  Secretary  received  us  and  assured  us 
we  were  not  late.  However,  we  were  the  last !  We  then  took  off  our 
coats  and  were  ushered  into  the  drawing  room,  outside  of  which  stood 
a  little  coloured  page  dressed  like  an  Egyptian  slave.  Sir  Louis 
Mallet  seems  awfully  nice.  He  is  a  bachelor,  rather  nice  looking, 
and  very  shy  and  diffident,  and  wears  a  monocle.  So  many  people 
came  up  to  greet  us.  Then  dinner  was  announced.  I  went  down 
with  a  Turkish  member  of  the  Cabinet,  and  sat  in  the  next  to  the 
place  of  honour.  Baron  von  Wangenheim  sat  on  the  other  side  of 
me.  I  think  he  likes  to  flirt.  At  any  rate  we  chatted  in  German 
and  had  quite  a  gay  time  together.  The  table  had  quantities  of  roses 
(all  from  Nice)  on  it.  The  only  light  in  the  whole  room  was  from 
huge,  massive,  silver  candelabra,  standing  on  mirrors  all  along  the 
table.  We  had  silver  dishes  and  soup  plates.  The  meal  was  served  in 
the  usual  rapid-fire  English  style.  Papa  sat  between  Lady  Crawford 
and  Baroness  Wangenheim.  Everyone  goes  in  according  to  rank, 
and  consequently,  usually  husbands  and  wives  sit  with  each  other's 
better  halves.  The  Turk  ate  most  heartily  and  told  me  afterward  he 
didn't  know  whether  he'd  get  any  dinner  the  next  night  or  not.  At 
dinner  it  was  funny — on  the  other  side  of  the  Turk  sat  Mrs.  Nicholson 
(nee  Sackville-West),  a  beauty,  and  with  the  most  gorgeous  emeralds! 
She  afterward  played  poker  with  five  Turks,  as  her  husband  informed 
me.  My  partner  told  me  he  hated  formal  dinners,  it  was  so  un 
comfortable  eating  in  a  uniform.  After  dinner  there  was  dancing, 
and  heaps  of  people  were  asked  for  that.  I  danced  quite  a  bit,  but 
was  so  tired  from  my  terribly  busy  day  that  we  left  at  twelve  o'clock. 
Papa  played  bridge  and  didn't  get  home  until  1 :30.  The  English 
Embassy  is  lighted  entirely  by  candles  and  really  the  effect  is 
wonderfully  beautiful. 

Next  day — This  morning  Mme.  Elise,  the  children,  and  I,  ac 
companied  by  the  ever-present  Abdullah  (the  body  guard),  went  to 
Therepia  in  a  motor  to  find  a  house  for  the  summer.  It  is  just 
heavenly.  You  simply  cannot  imagine  how  perfect  it  is.  The  houses 
have  the  most  beautiful  gardens  and  are  right  down  on  the  Bosphorus, 
which  is  so  blue;  and  from  one's  windows  one  looks  across  at  Asia. 
Papa  is  going  some  time  to  decide  finally,  as  this  was  just  a  pre 
liminary  survey.  We  picked  violets  and  a  rose,  just  think  of  it,  on 


SOCIAL  CONSTANTINOPLE  191 

December  22nd!  But  it  is  quite  cold  at  times.  The  gardens  are  so 
inviting,  and  I  can  just  imagine  tea  parties  and  all  kinds  of  thrilling 
things  happening  in  them.  This  afternoon  I  had  two  Turkish  ladies 
to  tea — Halide  Edi  Hanum  and  her  mother.  They  came  in  their 
yashmaks  and  we  had  Mme.  Elise  serve  the  tea.  Halide  is  a  graduate 
of  the  College  and  a  real  beauty.  She  is  tall  and  dark,  with  almond- 
shaped  eyes,  and  has  a  beautiful  complexion;  and  she  is  so  gentle 
and  soft  and  charming.  She  speaks  in  the  sweetest  voice,  and  what 
do  you  think  she  is  doing?  Translating  Oscar  Wilde  into  Turkish! 
Her  mother  is  the  daughter  of  the  sixth  wife  of  a  very  great  Pasha, 
and  her  grandmother  was  a  Circassian  slave  girl.  The  mother  can 
not  speak  anything  but  Turkish,  and  she  smoked  all  the  time  she  was 
here.  I  gave  her  some  candy  and  a  box  of  American  cigarettes  to 
take  home.  Halide  doesn't  smoke,  and  anyway,  if  she  went  into  a 
ball-room  at  home  she'd  create  a  sensation,  she  is  so  charming.  You 
simply  cannot  imagine  how  lovely  it  is  here  and  I  just  relish  and 
cherish  every  moment.  Baron  von  Wangenheim  hopes  you  will  take 
a  house  right  next  to  him  this  summer.  He  wants  to  ride  with  Ruth. 
Beware,  Ruth! 


A  rather  amusing  incident  occurred  late  in  January, 
1914,  when  upon  receiving  word  that  my  wife  had  left 
Vienna  for  Constantinople,  I  communicated  at  once  with 
Talaat  and  told  him  I  wished  him  to  facilitate  my  inten 
tion  of  meeting  Mrs.  Morgenthau  at  the  boundary  of 
Turkey.  I  told  him  I  proposed  to  go  to  Adrianople,  the 
point  at  which  her  train  would  enter  Turkey,  to  meet  her. 
Talaat's  reply  was  characteristically  Turkish: 

"What!"  he  exclaimed,  "going  to  all  that  trouble  to 
meet  one's  wife!  I  never  heard  of  such  a  thing." 

"I  cannot  imagine  an  American,"  I  replied,  "failing  to 
do  it.  In  my  country,  our  wives  share  all  their  husbands' 
interests,  and  I  should  certainly  consider  myself  lacking 
in  both  respect  and  affection  if  I  failed  to  show  my  wife 
this  attention." 

Talaat  was  frankly  bewildered. 


192  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

"In  Turkey,"  he  said,  "we  let  our  wives  come  to  us,  we 
do  not  go  to  them." 

As  a  last  resort,  he  interposed  what  he  intended  to  be 
an  unanswerable  objection. 

"Adrianople!"  he  exclaimed.  "It's  out  of  the  question. 
There  is  not  even  a  hotel  in  the  whole  city." 

"Very  well  then,"  I  replied,  "I  shall  find  accommoda 
tions  in  a  private  residence.  But  to  Adrianople  I  am 
going." 

With  this  retort,  I  left  him. 

Mr.  Schmavonian  later  went  to  Talaat  and  told  him 
that  I  was  quite  serious  in  my  intention.  Talaat  then 
sent  me  word  that  he  would  arrange  with  the  Governor  of 
Adrianople  to  entertain  me,  and  that  I  could  dismiss  all 
thought  of  other  preparations  from  my  mind.  I  there 
fore  contented  myself  with  arranging  to  arrive  in  Adrian 
ople  in  the  morning,  planning  to  spend  a  day  there  sight 
seeing,  and  then  joining  my  wife  on  the  train,  which  was 
due  to  come  through  the  following  morning  at  3 :30  o'clock. 
Imagine  my  astonishment,  therefore,  upon  arriving  at 
Adrianople,  to  find  that  the  Governor,  acting  on  Talaat's 
orders,  had  transformed  part  of  the  City  Hall  into  a 
hotel  for  my  reception.  The  office  furniture  had  been  re 
moved  and  a  suite  of  bedrooms  for  myself,  my  son  Henry 
(who  had  now  joined  me) ,  and  a  member  of  my  staff,  had 
been  freshly  furnished,  with  comfortable  beds  and  bedding 
specially  bought  for  this  occasion.  One  room  had  been 
fitted  up  as  a  kitchen;  another  as  a  dining  room.  Talaat's 
attentions  had  gone  so  far  as  even  to  see  that  we  were 
provided  with  pyjamas,  bedroom  slippers,  and  tooth 
brushes. 

When  I  arrived  at  Adrianople,  the  Governor  was  at  the 
station  to  meet  me,  accompanied  by  a  military  guard  of 
honour.  He  at  once  took  us  in  his  automobile  for  a  sight 
seeing  tour  of  the  city.  I  found  him  a  man  of  great  in- 


SOCIAL  CONSTANTINOPLE  193 

telligence — some  months  later  he  became  a  member  of  the 
Turkish  Cabinet  at  Constantinople.  He  was  especially 
interested  in  the  answers  that  my  son  was  able  to  make  to 
his  numerous  questions  about  American  farm  machinery, 
which  he  wished  to  import  for  use  on  his  large  estate. 

After  a  very  pleasant  day  we  returned  to  the  City  Hall 
and  there  we  were  tendered  a  splendid  dinner  and  recep 
tion.  The  Governor  then  told  me  that  the  express  train 
on  which  my  wife  was  travelling  was  reported  to  be  several 
hours  late,  and  that  I  had  as  well  make  myself  comfort 
able  by  going  to  bed  and  resting.  He  promised  to  have 
me  aroused  in  plenty  of  time  to  meet  the  train  on  its  ar 
rival.  Accordingly,  I  made  my  way  to  my  improvised 
bedroom  and  was  soon  asleep.  At  three  o'clock  in  the 
morning  the  Governor  himself  awakened  me.  He  urged 
me  to  hurry,  as  he  said  the  train  had  now  made  up  most  of 
its  lost  time  and  was  due  any  minute.  We  were  soon 
driving  through  the  chilly  streets  of  Adrianople  to  the  rail 
road  station.  Arriving  there,  we  found  that  the  report 
was  erroneous  and  that  the  train  was  still  two  hours  late. 
The  waiting  room  was  small,  very  dirty,  and  unheated. 
It  was  useless,  however,  to  return  to  the  City  Hall,  so  we 
waited  for  those  two  hours  in  the  dimly  lighted  and  evil- 
smelling  waiting  room,  beguiling  the  time  with  conversa 
tion  and  cups  of  Persian  tea.  He  was  greatly  interested 
to  find  out  from  me  the  practical  workings  of  the  Ameri 
can  system  of  government.  Most  of  our  time  was  spent 
in  questions  and  answers  regarding  our  elections,  with 
their,  to  him,  almost  incomprehensible  peaceful  transitions 
from  one  group  of  rulers  to  another. 

At  length  the  express  drew  into  the  station,  the  mili 
tary  guard  was  mounted,  and  the  Governor  with  great 
ceremony  escorted  me  to  the  train  platform.  I  thanked 
him  most  heartily  for  a  day  unique  in  my  experience. 
Having  undertaken  with  reluctance  to  facilitate  this  meet- 


194  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

ing  of  my  wife,  Talaat  had  gone  to  the  other  extreme  and 
had  given  it  an  almost  royal  setting.  Through  his  kind 
ness  I  was  enabled  to  escort  my  wife  properly  to  her  new 
home  in  Constantinople. 

Arriving  there,  she  entered  at  once  into  the  spirit  of  my 
mission  and  became  of  invaluable  assistance  to  me.  She 
had  looked  forward  to  it  as  a  dreary  exile  from  home  and 
friends  in  a  dull  and  uncivilized  community.  Instead, 
she  soon  found,  as  I  had  already,  that  the  diplomatic  cir 
cle  was  a  group  of  charming  people,  intellectually  stimu 
lating,  and  engaged  in  the  fascinating  game  of  high 
politics.  She  shared  as  well  my  intense  interest  in  the  work 
of  the  missionaries,  just  as  she  had  shared  in  New  York 
my  interest  in  the  Bronx  House  and  other  works  of  social 
betterment.  She  enjoyed,  besides,  a  most  unusual  oppor 
tunity  that  was  denied  to  me,  namely,  the  opportunity  to 
study,  under  the  most  favourable  circumstances,  the 
strangely  interesting  life  of  the  Oriental  woman.  This 
life  was  not  only  very  different  from  the  life  of  Western 
women  but  was  also  very  different  from  our  preconceived 
ideas  of  it.  Mrs.  Morgenthau  found,  to  be  sure,  that  the 
exclusion  of  Turkish  women  from  masculine  society  was  a 
reality,  but  she  was  astonished  on  the  other  hand  to  learn 
the  extent  to  which  the  more  ambitious  ones  among  them 
had  been  able  to  achieve  contact  with  Western  thought. 
The  plight  of  these  intelligent  women  was  really  tragical. 
They  were  the  pioneers  of  an  epochal  social  change  in 
Turkey,  and  they  were  suffering  the  usual  martyrdom  of 
pioneering.  They  had  been  allowed  to  acquire  the  educa 
tion  and  ideas,  which  have  so  broadened  the  mental  outlook 
of  Western  women,  but  the  social  barrier  of  custom  still 
prevented  them  from  enjoying  in  practice  the  advantage 
of  its  possession.  Their  husbands  sought  their  intellec 
tual  companions  entirely  among  other  men.  and  contin 
ued  to  regard  their  women  as  playthings  of  the  harem. 


SOCIAL  CONSTANTINOPLE  195 

They  were  thus  denied  the  stimulation  and  enjoyment  of 
contact  with  masculine  thought  and  were  cut  off  of  course 
from  all  active  participation  in  practical  works,  where 
the  mind  exercises  its  acquired  talents.  Doubtless  in  the 
course  of  time  women  in  Turkey  will  be  freed  from  these 
ancient  restrictions  of  custom  and  will  join  their  Western 
sisters  in  a  full  freedom  to  take  an  active  part  in  the  life  of 
the  world,  but  their  position  during  the  transition  period 
is  truly  pathetic. 

Mrs.  Morgenthau  came  across  many  cases  of  this  ano 
malous  condition.  One  of  the  most  striking  was  in  the 
home  of  the  Persian  Ambassador.  He  had  married  a  very 
cultivated  French  woman.  Notwithstanding  the  liber 
ality  of  thought  which  had  permitted  him  to  marry  a 
European,  he  had  done  so  only  on  the  agreement  that  she 
should  become  a  Mohammedan;  and  having  done  so,  he 
insisted  that  she  live  the  life  of  a  Mohammedan  woman. 
She  had  thus  stepped  from  that  stirring  French  society  of 
which  one  of  the  most  outstanding  characteristics  is  the 
almost  abnormally  important  influence  exerted  by  women, 
both  in  the  intellectual  life  and  in  public  affairs,  into  a 
society  where  she  was  debarred  entirely  from  association 
with  men  and  cut  off  from  all  practical  relations  with  out 
side  affairs.  When  Mrs.  Morgenthau  entertained  her,  or 
any  of  the  native  Turkish  ladies,  at  the  Embassy,  even  the 
male  servants  were  kept  below  stairs  and  luncheon  was 
served  by  the  house-maids. 

So  much  for  the  colour  of  life  at  the  Embassy  during 
the  first  months  after  my  arrival.  On  the  sober  business 
side,  there  was  much  of  equal  interest.  When  the  Young 
Turks  succeeded  to  power  they  had  brought  with  them 
great  hope  of  permanent  progress  for  their  country. 
This  hope  was  shared  by  Liberals  not  only  in  Turkey  but 
everywhere.  The  Christian  world  without  felt  that  at 
last  there  was  a  prospect  that  Moslem  government  might 


196  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

succeed  in  treating  a  Christian  population  justly.  The 
total  failure  of  this  party  proved  again  the  impossibility  of 
true  reform  among  the  Turks.  This  was  evident  to  careful 
observers  long  before  my  arrival  at  Constantinople,  but  I 
was  so  ardent  in  my  desire  to  help  them  that  it  took  me 
nearly  a  year  to  become  wholly  disillusioned. 

The  Young  Turks  from  their  accession  to  power  failed 
in  every  serious  task  they  undertook.  They  made  war 
on  the  Albanians,  with  whom  the  Sultans  had  compro 
mised  for  more  than  four  hundred  years.  Having  been 
trained  as  professional  soldiers  they  were  accustomed  to 
the  use  of  force  only.  They  had  not  the  slightest  notion 
of  democratic  political  methods  or  of  peaceful  conciliation, 
though  it  was  obvious  that  among  the  various  peoples  of 
Turkey  peaceful  conciliation  was  the  only  way  of  begin 
ning  a  united  national  life.  The  Young  Turks  brought 
the  dispute  with  Greece  concerning  the  possession  of  Crete 
to  a  crisis.  Instead  of  recognizing  the  accomplished  fact 
in  Tripoli  they  insisted  upon  retaining  control  of  that  prov 
ince,  and  Italy  declared  war.  Against  the  Armenians 
the  massacres  at  Adana  were  conducted  with  all  the  hor 
rors  of  the  past.  The  guilty,  instead  of  being  punished 
by  the  Central  Government,  were  exonerated.  But  the 
greatest  failure  of  all  on  the  part  of  the  so-called  Com 
mittee  of  Union  and  Progress  was  in  connection  with  the 
national  legislature.  The  revolution  led  the  Greeks  and 
Armenians  to  think  that  a  democratic  government  would 
be  established.  But  the  Young  Turks  "selected"  (not 
"elected")  the  members  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  from 
among  their  own  adherents. 

The  Committee  of  Union  and  Progress  was,  in  truth,  a 
desperate  set  of  men  confronted  by  desperate  conditions. 
Therefore  they  were  willing  to  take  the  most  desperate 
means  to  retain  "Turkey  for  the  Turks,"  and  especially 
Turkey  for  themselves.  Their  subsequent  actions  were 


SOCIAL  CONSTANTINOPLE  197 

all  in  keeping  with  this  resolve.  I  was  told  by  my  col 
leagues  that  business  had  to  be  transacted  with  the  Grand 
Vizier.  But  I  found  that  I  could  obtain  the  quickest 
results  through  Talaat  and  Enver.  My  somewhat  demo 
cratic,  business-like  methods  seemed  to  appeal  to  them. 
There  were  occasions  on  which  I  even  went  so  far  as  to 
deal  directly  with  lesser  officials.  Some  of  my  experi 
ences  would,  I  am  sure,  fill  a  professional  diplomat  with 
dismay  as  regards  the  future  of  his  calling. 

As  I  became  better  acquainted  with  Talaat,  who  was 
the  real  head  of  the  Government,  meeting  him  very  often 
at  my  house  and  sometimes  at  the  house  of  the  Grand 
Rabbi,  he  confided  to  me  the  great  disappointment  which 
he  and  his  fellow  revolutionists  felt  with  their  people. 
Having  lived  for  so  many  years  in  a  state  of  subjection, 
the  masses  seemed  completely  cowed  and  did  not  respond 
in  the  least  to  any  suggestion  of  progress  or  improvement. 
He  also  blamed  the  Sheikhs  and  feudal  chiefs  who  were 
still  extorting  tributes  and  using  most  exasperating  meth 
ods  in  collecting  taxes.  The  right  to  collect  taxes  was,  in 
many  districts,  farmed  out  to  the  state  bank  or  to  the 
richer  inhabitants.  They  were  entitled  by  law  to  collect  in 
kind  10  per  cent,  of  the  crops,  but  were  never  satisfied  with 
this  portion.  They  would  go  and  measure  the  crop  and 
leave  the  farms  without  collecting  the  taxes.  Where 
upon  the  poor  people,  not  being  permitted  to  use  their 
food  and  forage,  and  knowing  that  they  were  in  the  power 
of  the  tax  collector,  would  implore  him  for  a  prompt  set 
tlement.  Often,  to  prevent  starvation,  the  farmers  would 
submit  to  an  exaction  of  one  third  of  their  crop.  Talaat 
thought  that  nothing  less  than  the  hanging  of  a  number 
of  these  men  would  ever  stop  the  evil  practice.  He  seemed 
to  have  no  notion  that  a  better  system  of  collecting  the 
taxes  could  be  instituted. 

During  the  winter  of  1913-14,  Talaat  and  Enver,  espe- 


198  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

cially  the  former,  came  to  me  repeatedly  for  advice.  In 
experienced  as  they  were,  their  problems  were  such  as  to 
test  the  strength  of  the  ablest  statesman  of  any  country. 
The  only  reason  I  can  give  for  the  fact  that  they  drew  close 
to  me  in  the  matter  of  asking  advice  was  that  they  felt  that 
America  alone  of  the  larger  foreign  nations  had  no  pri 
vate  axe  to  grind  as  regards  her  relations  with  Turkey. 
Feeling  the  deepest  sympathy  for  all  efforts  to  forward 
the  welfare  of  backward  peoples,  I  did  all  I  could  to  aid 
them  with  the  best  counsel  I  could  offer. 

One  opportunity  for  such  assistance  presented  itself  on 
the  occasion  of  the  dinner  given  by  the  American  Cham 
ber  of  Commerce  for  the  Levant,  on  February  22,  1914, 
at  which  I  was  invited  to  make  the  principal  address  of  the 
evening.  Talaat  and  some  of  his  colleagues  were  to  be 
guests  of  honour.  I  felt  I  could  point  out  to  them  in  my 
address,  by  indirection,  the  path  along  which  they  might 
lead  Turkey  to  regeneration.  To  do  this,  I  recapitulated 
the  story  of  America's  great  moral  and  material  advance 
ment,  interpreting  the  events  in  the  way  which  I  thought 
would  be  most  intelligible  to  the  Turkish  intelligence,  and 
suggesting  that  the  Turkish  leaders  be  guided  in  their 
policy  by  the  lessons  of  our  history.  As  this  speech  had 
a  considerable  effect  upon  the  Turkish  Government,  and 
as  it  is,  I  think,  not  without  interest  to  Americans  them 
selves,  I  take  the  liberty  of  quoting  the  substance  of  it: 

What  an  achievement  it  would  be  if  the  Young  Giant  of  the  West, 
who  by  strictly  attending  to  his  own  business  has  developed  into  one 
of  the  greatest  and  richest  nations  of  the  world,  could  make  others 
see  the  advantages  and  wisdom  of  following  his  example.  We  rec 
ognize  the  difficulty  which  confronts  everyone  who  tries  to  prevail 
upon  another  to  benefit  by  his  experience,  but  perhaps  nations,  which 
are  guided  by  disinterested  patriots  who  have  only  the  good  of  the 
people  at  heart  and  none  of  the  selfish  motives  or  petty  vanities  of  an 
individual,  may  be  willing,  not  only  to  study  the  history  of  a  success- 


SOCIAL  CONSTANTINOPLE  199 

ful  nation,  but  also  to  profit  by  its  experiences,  and  thus  save  the  ex 
pense  and  spare  the  waste  caused  by  experimenting. 

As  a  diplomat  I  am  "  directed  by  my  Government  especially  to 
refrain  from  public  expressions  of  opinion  upon  local  political  or 
other  questions  arising  within  my  jurisdiction."  These  are  the  exact 
words  contained  in  my  Instruction  Book,  and  I  am  obliged  to  follow 
them  conscientiously.  But  that  does  not  prevent  me,  however,  from 
telling  you  what  we  have  done  at  home  to  establish  and  increase  our 
commerce  and  what  we  are  doing  to  improve  it  and  the  conditions  of 
our  people;  and  it  is  for  this  country,  the  Balkan  States,  and  Persia 
to  determine  how  much  of  it  can  be  adopted  by  them. 

It  is  just  fifty  years  ago  that  our  country  finished  one  of 
the  bloodiest  and  most  expensive  internecine  wars  recorded  in  history, 
and  you  all  know  that  the  worst  strifes  are  those  that  are  waged  be 
tween  brothers.  All  the  southern  states  had  been  completely  devas 
tated  ;  a  large  part  of  their  white  male  population  was  killed  during  the 
war;  millions  of  slaves  had  been  set  free  and  were  unprepared  to  take 
care  of  themselves  and  would  not  work;  both  the  North  and  the  South 
were  in  a  complete  state  of  physical  and  financial  exhaustion.  The 
cost  of  the  war  exceeded  1,500  million  dollars;  our  Government  bonds 
were  selling  below  par  and  were  mostly  owned  in  foreign  countries; 
we  had  just  been  deprived  of  the  wise  leadership  of  the  great 
Abraham  Lincoln  who  had  been  foully  murdered.  We  had  fought 
for  a  principle  and  had  won,  but  the  hatred  of  the  sections  for  each 
other  survived  and  the  great  problem  was  to  reconcile  the  combatants 
to  the  new  conditions  and  again  to  absorb  into  our  commercial  and 
business  activities  the  hundreds  of  thousands  of  members  of  the  dis 
banded  army  and  to  have  our  communities  resume  their  normal  con 
dition  and  bring  about  a  reconstruction  of  the  southern  states.  We 
were  confronted  by  a  tremendous  problem,  and  it  took  wise  statesman 
ship,  great  grit,  patient  toil,  and  unswerving  enthusiasm  born  from 
an  absolute  and  abiding  faith  in  the  future  to  solve  it.  We  had  only 
35,000  miles  of  railroads  and  many  of  these  traversed  the  devastated 
country.  I  say  "  only/'  because  to-day  we  have  more  than  250,000 
miles  of  railroad  which  have  brought  into  easy  communication  with 
the  large  markets  of  our  country  all  our  developed  farms  and  mines, 
etc.,  and  have  given  the  country  four  transcontinental  routes.  We 
had  a  population  of  34  millions  which  has  now  grown  to 
more  than  95  millions,  of  which  19  millions  attend  our  public  and  two 
Millions  our  private  schools,  and  320,000  attend  596  universities 


200  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

and  colleges  in  which  there  are  thirty  thousand  professors  and  in 
structors  and  which  have  libraries  containing  16  million  volumes  of 
books.  Our  imports  in  1870  were  436  millions  and  our  exports  393 
millions,  showing  a  balance  against  us  of  43  millions;  while  in  1913, 
our  imports  were  1,813  millions  and  our  exports  2,465  millions,  so 
that  we  had  a  balance  of  trade  in  our  favour  of  652  millions,  and  for 
the  last  seven  years  the  average  annual  balance  of  trade  has  been 
more  than  five  hundred  million  dollars.  We  have  gained  by  immi 
gration  about  30  million  people  of  which  the  year  1913  brought 
1,200,000 — practically  equal  to  the  population  of  the  city  of  Constan 
tinople.  This  great  army,  besides  bringing  their  energy,  strength, 
and  capacity  to  work,  also  brought  with  them  30  million  dollars  in 
cash!  I  wonder  if  these  figures  give  you  the  faintest  idea  of  this 
tremendous  growth. 

How  was  this  all  done? 

We  invited,  urged,  and  welcomed  help  from  every  source  and  there 
was  a  generous  response.  We  utilized  English,  French,  German,  and 
Dutch  money  to  help  build  our  railroads.  We  opened  our  portals 
wide  to  immigrants  who  overflowed  our  shores  in  a  most  unprecedented 
fashion.  It  first  relieved  Ireland  and  Germany  of  their  surplus 
population  and  thereby  bettered  the  condition  of  those  that  remained 
at  home;  later  on  Italy  and  Russia  sent  us  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
their  people.  And  it  was  thus  that  the  native  population  received 
the  necessary  reinforcements  to  help  develop  the  new  districts  that 
were  being  opened  for  settlement.  As  fast  as  the  railroad  develop 
ment  pierced  the  West,  villages  and  cities  followed  it.  The  North 
erners  and  Southerners  found  a  common  ground  in  the  great  and 
almost  boundless  West  which  was  then  entirely  undeveloped  and  they 
worked  side  by  side  in  this  new  land  of  promise  and  soon  forgot  their 
past  differences.  They  started  out  in  log  cabins  which  they  erected 
with  their  own  hands;  they  slept  on  pine  boughs  and  were  willing  to 
forego  all  comforts  to  enable  them  rapidly  to  recoup  their  lost  for 
tunes.  Gradually  they  acquired  the  almost  luxurious  surroundings 
in  which  they  live  to-day,  for  there  is  hardly  a  farmhouse  without  an 
organ  or  a  piano,  a  sewing  machine,  a  small  library  and  carpets  on 
the  floor,  and  most  of  them  own  considerable  agricultural  machinery 
and  a  great  many  of  them  their  own  automobiles. 

We  adopted  a  system  of  protection  so  as  to  foster  our  then  infant 
industries  which  are  now  managed  by  wonderful  corporations  that 
not  only  can  stand  alone  but  compete  with  the  world.  We  encouraged 


SOCIAL  CONSTANTINOPLE  201 

thrift  and  habits  of  saving  so  that  the  deposits  in  the  savings  banks 
to-day  amount  to  4,450  millions  and  the  assets  of  the  life  insurance 
companies  to  more  than  4,400  million  dollars. 

What  do  such  accumulated  assets  mean? 

They  mean  opportunities  realized,  steady  thrift,  thousands  of 
thrills  of  pleasure  at  individual  progress  toward  independence  and 
protection  against  want  in  old  age,  provisions  for  rainy  days;  the 
renewed  prosperity  of  the  natives  of  the  South,  North,  East,  and 
West;  conversion  of  millions  of  stalwart  immigrants  into  prosperous 
farmers,  business  men,  mechanics,  etc.,  who  are  the  owners  of  these 
and  other  assets.  I  am  going  to  leave  to  your  imagination  and  poetic 
temperament  to  analyze  still  further  what  are  the  component  parts 
when  reduced  into  human  endeavours  that  constitute  this  monument 
of  prosperity. 

We  are  not  so  conceited  as  to  arrogate  to  ourselves  the  claim  that 
we  are  the  only  country  that  has  accomplished  such  wonderful  results 
in  the  last  fifty  years.  In  1865  there  was  no  German  Empire  nor 
United  Italy;  their  creation  and  phenomenal  development  have  taken 
place  since  then.  I  believe  that  a  description  of  the  industrial  and 
commercial  development  of  those  and  many  other  countries  would 
make  as  fine  a  story  as  I  have  told  you  about  the  United  States;  but 
they  are  so  near  to  you  that  it  would  lack  the  enchantment  that  dis 
tance  lends  to  a  view.  I  have  shown  you  results  and  I  now  want  to 
tell  you  that  they  have  not  been  attained  without  a  great  many 
troubles  and  tribulations.  We  have  had  our  severe  panics  and  re 
cessions;  our  droughts  and  floods;  our  pests  of  grasshoppers  and  boll- 
weevils;  our  strikes  and  labour  troubles,  some  of  which  have  led  to 
bloodshed.  It  was  no  easy  task  to  assimilate  the  many  different 
nationalities  that  reached  our  shores.  The  troubles  of  most  nations 
are  those  of  struggling  against  poverty.  We  have  had  the  unusual  ex 
perience  of  having  to  fight  and  suppress  the  excessive  prosperity  of 
the  privileged  classes  of  our  country,  because  they  were  about  destroy 
ing  our  free  government  and  were  depriving  our  people  of  their  equal 
opportunities.  Fortunately  we  found  in  our  present  President,  Wood- 
row  Wilson,  a  champion  for  justice  and  right,  and  he  has,  through  his 
infinite  skill  and  wisdom,  practically  after  one  year  of  administration, 
adjusted  the  matter. 

If  I  were  in  America  and  wanted  to  compare  our  accomplishments 
to  something  definite,  I  would  speak  of  a  fifty-story  building  in  con 
trast  to  some  of  the  two-  or  three-story  buildings.  But  being  in 


202  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

Turkey  I  want  to  say  that  I  have  shown  you  the  wonderful  national 
rug  that  we  have  produced  in  the  United  States.  It  was  woven  by 
the  millions  that  inhabit  our  land,  natives  and  foreigners,  whites  and 
blacks,  people  from  the  North,  South,  East,  and  West,  men  and 
women,  and  from  materials  produced  in  our  own  soil  and  imported 
from  all  countries;  and  as  far  as  we  have  finished  it,  we  pride  our 
selves,  notwithstanding  some  faults  and  defects,  that  it  makes  a  fine, 
harmonious  whole.  And  the  sincerest  compliments  that  any  country 
could  pay  to  us  would  be  to  adopt  and  imitate  our  pattern. 

When  I  described  the  success  we  had  attained  in  our 
endeavours  during  the  fifty  years  since  the  Civil  War, 
Talaat  and  some  of  his  colleagues  were  visibly  impressed. 
Shortly  after  this  dinner  both  Talaat  and  Enver  urged 
me  to  visit  various  parts  of  the  Turkish  Empire  in  order  to 
be  able  to  advise  them  as  regards  reforms  in  their  adminis 
tration  and  other  means  of  public  progress.  While  my 
instructions  from  my  government,  like  those  of  every 
country  to  its  foreign  representatives  abroad,  forbade  my 
intermeddling  with  purely  domestic  affairs,  I  felt  that  the 
situation  in  Turkey  was  wholly  without  precedent.  So  I 
set  myself  to  study  the  country  and  its  varied  and  most  in 
tricate  problems.  With  Talaat  and  Enver  I  planned 
three  trips — the  first  to  Palestine  and  Syria,  the  second  to 
the  south  shore  of  the  Black  Sea,  and  the  third  to  the  in 
terior,  as  far  as  the  Bagdad  railway  was  then  constructed. 
The  coming  of  war  prevented  the  second  and  third  trips. 
The  first  I  shall  describe  in  the  next  chapter. 

But,  fascinating  as  were  my  discoveries  in  the  novel 
field  of  diplomacy,  and  much  as  I  enjoyed  the  effort  to 
assist  the  Turkish  leaders,  I  felt  after  all  that  my  true 
function  as  American  Ambassador  was  far  removed  from 
the  intrigues  of  the  Old  World  Powers  and  from  the  mo 
mentary  struggles  of  the  existing  Turkish  Government. 
On  the  one  hand,  America  had  no  ambitions  in  Turkey 
that  called  for  diplomatic  gambling.  Our  interests  there 


SOCIAL  CONSTANTINOPLE  203 

were  almost  wholly  altruistic.  We  had,  to  be  sure,  a  small 
commercial  interest,  and  I  had  no  disposition  to  shirk  my 
responsibility  for  fostering  its  improvement.  The  Stan 
dard  Oil  Company  was  our  most  considerable  business 
representative.  The  Singer  Sewing  Machine  Company, 
served  in  Constantinople  by  Germans  from  its  Berlin 
branch,  was  second.  The  third  in  importance  were  the 
American  buyers  of  Turkish  tobacco  and  Turkish  licorice. 
Besides  these,  we  had  little  commercial  representation. 

America's  true  mission  in  Turkey,  I  felt,  was  to  foster 
the  permanent  civilizing  work  of  the  Christian  missions, 
which  so  gloriously  exemplified  the  American  spirit  at  its 
best.  As  I  frequently  explained  to  the  Turkish  Govern 
ment  officers,  we  had  little  need  for  foreign  trade  or  for 
eign  sources  of  raw  material.  Our  territory  was  so  vast, 
and  our  population  relatively  so  small,  that  we  had  neither 
reason  nor  disposition  to  covet  further  territory.  I  ex 
plained  to  them  further  that  our  citizens  were  accustomed 
to  achieve  their  own  financial  independence,  and  that  this 
characteristic  of  rising  from  poverty  to  affluence  had  bred 
in  them,  as  a  national  characteristic,  a  sympathy  with  those 
not  yet  arrived  at  fortune,  and  a  helpful  wish  to  place  the 
means  of  advancement  within  the  reach  of  those  still 
struggling  upward.  This  spirit  had  lavished  itself  in 
America  upon  the  advancement  of  common  schools  and 
higher  institutions  of  learning,  and  upon  thousands  of 
other  forms  of  philanthropy  and  helpfulness.  This  spirit 
of  good  will,  I  explained  further,  overflowed  our  bound 
aries  into  other  lands,  partly  because  we  wished  to  share 
our  good  fortune  with  others,  and  chiefly  because  it  was 
prescribed  by  the  Christian  faith,  which  declared  that  good 
works  should  not  be  limited  to  those  of  one's  own  family 
or  kindred.  America,  I  told  them,  is  constantly  receiv 
ing  hundreds  of  thousands  of  emigrants  from  the  Old 
World,  and  American  generosity  has  placed  among  these 


204  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

newly  arrived  citizens  the  services  of  expert  advisers,  who 
use  every  means  to  make  easy  the  path  of  the  immigrant, 
and  to  induct  him  as  rapidly  as  possible  into  the  full  fel 
lowship  of  American  life.  The  Christian  missions  in  Tur 
key,  I  added,  carried  this  work  one  step  further:  it  went 
into  other  lands  and  tried  to  carry  to  them  some  of  the 
benefits  which  our  material  prosperity  made  possible 
among  us. 

I  think  my  words  were  received,  at  first,  with  some  re 
serve,  not  only  by  the  Turks  themselves,  but  by  my  col 
leagues,  the  representatives  of  the  European  nations. 
They  soon  learned,  however,  to  believe  them,  when  they 
saw  that  I  sought  no  concessions,  that  I  devoted  no  more 
attention  to  the  American  commercial  enterprises  repre 
sented  in  the  Levant  than  were  necessary  for  the  transac 
tion  of  their  ordinary  business,  and  that  I  gave  my  chief 
attention  to  encouraging  the  work  of  the  Christian  mis 
sionaries  and  spreading  the  gospel  of  Americanism.  I 
soon  found  that  I  could  be  of  the  greatest  assistance  to 
these  people.  It  was  generally  believed  in  Turkey  that 
I  was  unusually  close  to  the  President.  Consequently 
the  attentions  which  I  took  pains  to  shower  upon  the  mis 
sionaries  added  enormously  to  the  importance  of  their 
position  in  the  eyes  of  the  Turkish  Government,  and 
placed  them  upon  an  entirely  new  footing  in  their  consid 
eration.  When  it  was  observed  that  Dr.  Gates,  the  presi 
dent  of  Robert  College,  frequently  accompanied  me  on 
my  horseback  rides,  and  that  I  made  an  invariable  custom 
of  entertaining  at  dinner  at  least  once  a  week  Dr.  Mary 
Mills  Patrick  and  Dr.  Louise  B.  Wallace,  the  president 
and  the  dean,  respectively,  of  the  Constantinople  College 
for  Girls,  the  Turkish  Government  conceived  an  entirely 
new  idea  of  the  importance  that  America  attaches  to  these 
institutions;  and  they  gave  a  corresponding  deference  to 
the  wishes  of  their  presidents. 


SOCIAL  CONSTANTINOPLE  205 

Even  if  I  had  not  conceived  these  attentions  to  be  one  of 
my  prime  duties,  I  should  have  been  drawn  to  these  com 
panionships  by  a  native  congeniality  of  temper.  Dr.  Pat 
rick  and  Dr.  Gates  were  splendid  examples  of  American 
womanhood  and  manhood.  Both  had  forsaken  the  op 
portunity  of  success  in  America  to  devote  their  lives  un 
selfishly  to  the  great  task  of  human  betterment.  Their 
gifts  of  mind  and  graces  of  character  would  have  made 
them  delightful  companions  in  any  circumstances.  But 
having,  besides,  as  they  did,  a  profound  interest  in  the 
kind  of  work  that  had  so  deeply  engrossed  me  in  New 
York,  I  gravitated  toward  them  in  Constantinople  by 
a  natural  attraction.  With  them  I  would  mention  Dr. 
Peet,  the  resident  financial  representative,  in  Constanti 
nople,  of  the  Mission  Boards  of  America — a  man  of  great 
experience  and  gracious  person  who  had  given  a  quarter 
of  a  century  of  his  life  to  work  in  this  field.  Further  along 
in  this  article,  I  shall  describe  some  of  the  happy  experi 
ences  I  had  in  meeting  some  of  the  young  men  and  wo 
men  who  were  students  at  the  colleges. 

My  relationships  with  the  Jews  of  Constantinople  were 
equally  useful  and  equally  pleasant.  I  cultivated  the  ac 
quaintance  of  the  Chief  Rabbi  Nahoun,  a  learned  and  bril-  .; 
liant  man  in  his  early  forties.  I  took  pains  to  show  him 
every  possible  honour  in  public.  I  let  it  be  generally 
known  that  I  frequented  the  B'nai  Brith  Lodge  at  Con 
stantinople,  which,  to  my  astonishment  and  gratification, 
I  discovered  to  contain  in  its  membership  a  group  of  men 
of  higher  average  quality  than  are  in  any  American  lodge 
of  the  same  order  with  which  I  am  acquainted.  My  pub 
lic  attentions  to  these  representative  Jews  gave  to  them 
also  a  new  importance  and  a  new  dignity  in  the  view  of 
the  Turkish  Government.  It  was  indeed  gratifying  to 
me  to  be  able,  with  scarcely  an  effort,  so  greatly  to  im 
prove  the  status  of  my  co-religionists  in  the  eyes  of  a 


206  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

government  which  controlled  the  historical  birthplace  of 
the  Hebrew  religion  and  the  scene  of  its  one-time  tem 
poral  grandeur. 

One  of  my  ambitions  at  Constantinople  was  to  make  the 
Embassy  truly  the  American  Headquarters.  Every 
American  of  whatever  degree,  whether  resident  or  visitor, 
was  welcome  within  its  portals.  I  endeavoured  to  have 
every  one  of  them  enjoy  even  its  formal  hospitality — an 
invitation  to  a  luncheon  or  a  dinner.  I  felt  that  the  Em 
bassy  was  not  intended  merely  to  provide  an  opportunity 
for  exclusive  social  distinction  for  the  Ambassador.  On 
the  contrary,  it  belonged  to  the  American  people;  and 
certainly  part  of  my  function  was  to  see  that  it  was  of  ser 
vice  to  them.  I  soon  observed  how  greatly  an  invitation 
to  the  Embassy  was  appreciated;  and  since  my  return  to 
this  United  States  I  have  had  innumerable  evidences  of 
the  enjoyment  which  the  simplest  courtesy  I  extended 
brought  to  its  recipient.  Time  after  time  I  have  had 
strangers  salute  me  in  various  parts  of  this  country  and 
remind  me  with  great  warmth  of  the  pleasure  they  had  en 
joyed  in  a  call  at  the  Embassy  in  Turkey. 

But  perhaps  the  most  satisfying  of  all  my  associations 
in  Turkey  was  the  privilege  I  enjoyed  of  constantly  shar 
ing  in  the  problems  and  accomplishments  of  the  two  prin 
cipal  American  colleges.  To  me  their  work  was  an  end 
less  source  of  satisfaction.  To  see  these  great  evidences 
of  American  idealism  functioning  in  this  remote  and  back 
ward  land,  spreading  civilization  among  people  long  sub 
merged  in  ignorance,  was  a  profound  reason  for  pride  in 
my  country.  As  a  humanitarian,  it  was  a  corresponding 
delight  to  see  the  students  themselves — their  young  minds 
expanding,  their  young  spirits  fired  with  enthusiasm,  in 
the  congenial  atmosphere  of  these  institutions  which,  but 
for  America,  would  not  have  existed  and  for  which  there 
was  no  substitute  within  their  reach. 


SOCIAL  CONSTANTINOPLE  207 

The  Girls'  College  especially  appealed  to  my  sym 
pathy.  Here,  in  a  land  in  which  the  position  of  women 
was  the  most  unfavourable,  was  an  institution  which  was 
offering  to  the  future  mothers  of  the  Near  East  an  en 
trance  into  a  new  world  of  freedom  and  opportunity. 
Girls  were  gathered  here  from  all  parts  of  the  Turkish 
Empire — Turkish  girls,  Armenians,  Jews,  Greeks,  Bul 
garians,  and  Albanians.  It  was  a  delight  to  see  how  they 
responded  to  their  opportunity.  On  numerous  occasions, 
Dr.  Patrick  invited  me  to  address  them,  and  one  such  oc 
casion  I  recall  with  a  special  pleasure.  I  described  to 
them  the  American  profession  of  social  worker,  tracing 
the  reasons  which  gave  rise  to  the  movement  for  social  bet 
terment  in  our  country  and  explaining  how  this  new  pro 
fession  arose  out  of  the  need  for  trained  workers  in  that 
field.  I  was  astonished  to  see  how  deep  an  impression  my 
description  made  upon  them.  It  appealed  to  the  univer 
sal  instinct  of  women  to  cherish  life  and  to  work  for  its  im 
provement.  So  enthusiastic  were  these  young  Oriental 
women  that  afterward  Dr.  Patrick  told  me  more  than  half 
of  them  had  expressed  an  ambition  to  devote  their  life  to 
social  service. 

These  girls,  touched  by  the  stimulation  of  the  new  intel 
lectual  world  freely  opened  to  them,  attempted  many 
imaginative  experiments.  One  of  the  most  interesting 
that  I  observed  was  the  product  of  a  debate  held  in  the 
college,  in  which  one  team  had  maintained  the  position  of 
the  Greek  Stoics  against  the  other  group  which  had  de 
fended  the  philosophy  of  the  Epicureans.  Not  satisfied 
with  debating  the  subject  abstractly,  the  girls  had  resolved 
to  put  the  two  philosophies  to  the  practical  test  of  experi 
ence;  and  for  a  week  the  Senior  Class  was  divided  into  two 
groups,  one  of  which  attempted  actually  to  live  for  that 
period  according  to  the  Stoic  dogma  and  the  other  accord 
ing  to  the  Epicurean.  They  took  the  experiment  seri- 


208  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

ously,  but  of  course,  with  the  lightheartedness  of  youth, 
they  found  it  an  entertainment  as  well.  The  essays  writ 
ten  on  their  experiences  as  Stoics  and  Epicureans  would 
make  interesting  reading.  I  could  not  refrain  from  specu 
lating  with  hope  and  enthusiasm  upon  the  numerous  in 
fluences  which  this  college,  through  these  eager  young 
spirits,  would  wield  in  directing  the  future  destiny  of  the 
millions  of  backward  people  among  whom  they  would  be 
scattered  as  torch  bearers  of  civilization. 

Robert  College  was  an  institution  for  men,  founded 
fifty  years  ago  by  Christopher  R.Roberts,  a  wealthy  leather 
merchant  of  New  York.  Its  early  destiny  was  directed 
by  Dr.  Hamlin  and  Dr.  Washburn,  two  far-seeing  states 
men  of  education.  They  had  steered  a  course  for  the  in 
stitution  which  had  gained  at  least  the  passive  cooperation 
of  the  Turkish  Government,  while  in  America  it  had 
gained  the  enthusiastic  support  of  great  philanthropists 
like  Cleveland  H.  Dodge  and  John  S.  Kennedy.  Grad 
ually  there  had  been  added  to  its  faculty  men  of  strong 
character  and  profound  learning,  so  that  by  the  time  I 
reached  Constantinople  it  was  an  institution  worthy  of  all 
the  care  that  had  been  lavished  upon  it.  These  earnest 
men  had  made  a  real  impression  upon  the  life  of  the  Near 
East.  Being  the  only  great  seat  of  learning  in  that  whole 
large  territory,  it  had  attracted  the  ambitious  youth  from 
the  remotest  Armenia  and  all  the  Balkan  countries.  Bul 
garia  especially  had  appreciated  its  opportunity.  Hun 
dreds  of  the  leaders  of  Bulgarian  political  and  economic 
life  received  their  training  here. 

In  Dr.  Gates,  the  president  of  Robert  College,  I  found 
a  man  who  was  very  useful  to  me.  He  had  lived  many 
years  in  Turkey,  knew  all  the  chief  figures  in  its  public 
life,  and  was  a  profound  student  of  Turkish  psychology. 
In  return,  I  had  the  pleasure  of  being  useful  to  him  during 
the  trying  days  after  Turkey  entered  the  war, 


SOCIAL  CONSTANTINOPLE  209 

Such  was  the  picture  of  Constantinople  as  I  saw  it  dur 
ing  the  first  four  months  of  my  embassy.  It  was  a  picture 
full  of  strange  anomalies  and  apparent  contradictions. 
Here  was  I,  a  native  of  Europe,  representing  the  greatest 
republic  of  America  at  the  court  of  an  Oriental  sovereign. 
Here  was  I,  a  Jew,  representing  the  greatest  Christian 
nation  of  the  world  at  the  capital  of  the  chief  Moham 
medan  nation.  Here  was  I,  a  man  without  any  previous 
diplomatic  experience  whatsoever,  suddenly  projected 
headlong  into  one  of  the  most  difficult  diplomatic  posts  in 
the  world,  as  one  of  the  ten  personal  representatives  of  the 
President.  Here  was  a  nation,  ruled  in  name  by  a  proud 
descendant  of  Mohammed,  and  ruled  in  fact  by  a  group  of 
desperate  adventurers  whose  chieftain  was  an  ex-railroad 
porter.  Here  was  the  capital  of  an  ancient  and  decaying 
nation,  which  was  soon,  because  of  its  strategic  position, 
to  become  one  of  the  very  vital  centres  of  world  diplo 
macy.  Here  was  a  wornout  empire  dying,  which  in  its 
death  agony  clutched  other  peoples  still  with  its  withered 
fingers  and  was  soon  to  reach  up  and  draw  within  its  fatal 
embrace,  in  the  death  grapple  of  a  world  war,  boys  from 
the  cattle  ranges  of  Australia,  aboriginal  Indians  from  the 
wilds  of  northwest  Canada,  peasants  from  farthest  Rus 
sia,  cockneys  from  the  East  End  of  London,  shepherds 
from  the  Carpathian  Mountains — vast  aggregations  of 
soldiers  as  polyglot  as  the  population  of  Constantinople 
itself — that  mongrel  city  which,  sitting  at  the  cross  roads 
of  ancient  trade  routes,  had  for  centuries  drawn  citizens 
from  every  people  under  heaven.  How  could  I  realize, 
during  those  peaceful  first  months  of  my  embassy,  that  I, 
the  representative  of  remote  and  isolated  America,  should 
soon  be  involved  in  diplomatic  complications  that  should 
involve  the  very  continuance  of  American  institutions. 
It  was  well  that  I  had  those  few  months  of  peaceful  educa 
tion  into  that  society  before  the  storm  of  the  World 


210  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

War  burst  upon  us.  It  was  well,  too,  that  I  had  my  trip 
to  Egypt  and  Asia  Minor,  where  I  met  and  learned  much 
from  Lord  Kitchener,  Lord  Bryce,  and  the  wise  Ameri 
cans  and  Jews  whom  I  there  encountered.  This  journey 
was  of  so  much  importance  to  me  that  it  deserves  a  sepa 
rate  chapter. 


CHAPTER  XI 

MY  TRIP   TO   THE   HOLY   LAND 

AjL  through  the  winter  of  1913-14,  though  busily 
engaged  in  mastering  my  other  duties  as  Ambas 
sador,  there  were  constantly  two  problems  inter 
esting  me. 

The  first  was  the  American  missionary  activities,  whose 
ramifications  reached  into  all  parts  of  Turkey,  and  whose 
many  and  varied  requests,  though  intelligently  interpre 
ted  by  Dr.  W.  W.  Peet,  I  could  not  fully  grasp,  owing  to 
the  meagreness  of  my  knowledge  of  the  men  and  women 
concerned,  and  of  the  physical  conditions  surrounding 
them  in  their  activities  in  the  interior  of  Turkey.  I  was 
at  the  seat  of  government  of  all  these  missionary  activities, 
and  had  become  well  acquainted  with  the  directing  forces. 
Doctor  Peet  had  shown  me  his  vast  records,  and  had  ac 
quainted  me  with  the  many  branches,  and  told  me  of  the 
many  representatives  that  they  had  scattered  throughout 
Turkey.  Occasionally,  visits  from  some  of  the  interior 
missionaries  had  impressed  me  so  favourably  both  as  to 
their  sincerity  and  sympathy  for  their  flocks,  that  I  be 
came  thoroughly  aroused  with  a  desire  to  see  the  entire 
mechanism  of  the  missionary  activities  in  Turkey.  I  per 
sonally  wanted  to  know  the  administrative  and  educa 
tional  forces,  and  visit  the  buildings  and  surroundings  in 
which  they  were  operating,  so  that  I  might  be  able  prop 
erly  to  present  their  claims  to  the  Turkish  officials,  and  fin 
ally  give  an  intelligent  account  to  those  of  my  friends  in 
America  who  had  so  anxiously  impressed  upon  me  the 

211 


212  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

deep  interest  felt  by  such  a  vast  number  of  them  in  the  wel 
fare  of  the  missionaries. 

My  second  problem  was  the  Jewish  question,  which  I 
will  discuss  in  a  separate  chapter.  Naturally  I  concluded 
to  visit  first  the  Holy  Land  and  the  Mediterranean  Coast 
of  Asia,  where  so  many  of  the  important  Christian  mis 
sions  were  located.  When  I  spoke  to  different  people 
concerning  this  trip,  everyone  urged  me  to  go.  The  Turk 
ish  authorities  felt  that  it  would  greatly  benefit  them  if  I 
could,  with  my  own  eyes,  see  the  possibilities  of  an  indus 
trial  and  agricultural  revival  of  Turkey,  for,  thereafter,  I 
might  be  useful  to  them  in  influencing  foreign  capital  to 
invest  in  their  prospects.  The  missionaries  were  enthusi 
astic.  They  expected — and  I  afterward  ascertained  were 
justified  in  this — that  a  visit  to  their  main  stations  by  the 
American  Ambassador  would  so  impress  the  local  authori 
ties  both  at  those  places  and  at  Constantinople  that  their 
standing  with,  and  their  treatment  by,  the  Turkish  offi 
cials  would  be  greatly  improved.  My  Jewish  friends, 
similarly,  felt  that  such  a  tangible  evidence  of  American 
and  my  personal  interest  in  their  condition  would  greatly 
benefit  them  with  the  authorities.  The  men  in  the  Em 
bassy  who  now  realized  how  easily  an  "outsider"  could 
master  the  knowledge  that  lay  buried  in  the  records  of  the 
Chancery  also  encouraged  my  scheme  to  delve  further 
into  the  outside  ramifications  of  American  activity  in  Tur 
key. 

The  best  and  most  direct  transportation  to  Palestine 
was  supplied  by  the  splendid  Russian  steamship  lines  that 
were  then  plying  weekly  between  Odessa  and  Alexandria, 
and  as  these  boats  stopped  for  a  day  at  Smyrna,  and  an 
other  day  at  Piraeus,  I  should  thereby  be  enabled  to  visit 
the  Consul  and  the  American  College  at  Smyrna,  and  to 
view  the  interesting  sights  of  Athens.  I  therefore  chose 
this  route. 


MY  TRIP  TO  THE  HOLY  LAND        213 

As  the  journey  was  made  for  the  purpose  of  studying 
two  distinct  problems,  I  think  it  well  to  describe  in  this 
chapter  all  the  things  that  are  of  general  interest,  reserv 
ing  for  a  later  chapter  the  highly  specialized  Jewish  ques 
tion  as  I  saw  and  studied  it  in  Palestine.  I  shall  not 
weary  the  reader  with  a  complete  record  of  the  journey, 
but  shall  select  for  him  some  interesting  incidents  and  ob 
servations  without  following  too  closely  their  chronologi 
cal  order. 

Of  these,  one  of  the  most  interesting  (and  one  that  in 
volved  several  amusing  complications)  was  my  visit  to  the 
Caves  of  Machpelah.  When  Doctor  Peet  heard  of  my 
plans  to  visit  Palestine,  he  came  to  see  me  and  spent  a  long 
time  in  informing  me  of  what  I  could  see,  and  of  the  tre 
mendous  benefit  that  it  would  be  to  me  and  to  the  mis 
sionaries  to  become  personally  acquainted.  This  was  a 
helpful  service,  and  I  gratefully  made  notes  of  his  sug 
gestions.  When  these  were  finished,  I  was  somewhat 
puzzled  when  he  launched  into  a  long  dissertation  upon 
the  unique  advantage  which  I,  as  an  ambassador,  enjoyed 
in  being  able  to  secure  permission  to  visit  the  Caves  of 
Machpelah.  He  explained  that  these  caves  were  the  au 
thentic  graves  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  of  Sarah, 
Leah,  and  Rebecca.  He  added  the  curious  information 
that  the  Moslems  regarded  these  patriarchs  as  among  the 
holiest  of  the  saints  of  Islam.  And  so  jealous  were  they 
in  their  religious  veneration  of  these  tombs  that,  by  an  ex 
traordinary  paradox,  they  have  for  one  thousand  years 
prohibited  not  only  the  Christians,  but  the  blood  descend 
ants  of  Abraham,  the  Jews,  from  visiting  these  tombs. 
The  Moslems  had  erected  a  mosque  over  them,  and  they 
were  guarded  day  and  night.  The  only  exception  to  the 
rule  that  none  but  Mohammedans  might  visit  them  was 
that  the  privilege  was  extended  to  visiting  princes  of  royal 
blood,  and  to  ambassadors,  who  represented,  not  nations, 


214  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

but  the  persons  of  their  sovereigns.  Doctor  Peet  then  en 
larged  again  upon  the  extraordinary  opportunity  which 
this  privilege  gave  me  of  enjoying  a  unique  experience. 

Light  had  now  dawned  upon  me,  and  I  asked  Doctor 
Peet  a  question  which  I  intentionally  drew  out  into  a  long 
sentence,  so  as  to  study  the  effect  upon  him.  I  asked  him 
whether  my  inference  that  this  great  interest  which  he  dis 
played  in  my  trip  and  the  importance  which  he  attached 
to  the  opportunities  incident  to  my  travelling  not  as  a  pri 
vate  citizen,  but  as  an  ambassador,  could  be  construed  by 
me  as  a  hint  on  his  part  of  a  lurking  wish  that  he  might  ac 
company  me. 

Doctor  Peet  was  usually  so  serious  that  I  did  not  know 
how  he  would  respond.  He  answered  me  quite  earnestly: 
"Well,  really,  that  was  my  object  in  telling  you  all  about 
it."  I  told  him  I  fully  realized  how  valuable  his  company 
would  be,  especially  in  arranging  my  meetings  with  the 
missionaries,  and  I  most  cordially  invited  him  to  come  with 
me.  A  few  days  later,  Peet  called  again,  and  said  to  me: 
"You  know,  I  have  been  thinking  a  great  deal  about  our 
trip.  I  shall  be  able  to  render  the  assistance  you  expect 
of  me  in  Palestine ;  but  when  you  visit  Syria  and  Galilee, 
you  ought  to  have  with  you  Dr.  Franklin  Hoskins  of 
Beirut,  who  is  a  great  Arabic  scholar  and  in  charge  of  the 
missions  there,  and  knows  everybody  in  and  everything 
about  that  region."  I  ended  the  interview  with  an  invita 
tion  for  him  as  well.  "But,"  I  said,  "if  I  invite  Hoskins, 
shall  I  not  slight  Dr.  Howard  Bliss,  president  of  the  Prot 
estant  Syrian  College  at  Beirut,  who  was  introduced  to 
me  at  a  luncheon  given  for  that  purpose  in  New  York  by 
my  warm  friend,  Cleveland  H.  Dodge,  and  whom  I  had 
then  promised  to  visit  at  Beirut?"  Then  Peet  said :  "Why 
not  invite  Bliss,  too?  He  would  be  a  great  acquisition  to 
the  party."  "But,"  I  added,  "this  won't  do,  unless  I  also 
invite  his  daughter  and  her  husband,  Bayard  Dodge." 


MY  TRIP  TO  THE  HOLY  LAND        215 

So  I  invited  these  various  parties,  and  received  prompt  ac 
ceptances.  But  this  by  no  means  completes  the  story. 

A  few  days  later  Mr.  Schmavonian,  who  had  been  con 
nected  with  the  Embassy  for  seventeen  years  as  the  Turk 
ish  adviser,  and  who  was  the  custodian  of  the  tradition  of 
the  Embassy,  awaited  me  in  my  office  one  afternoon  after, 
as  I  subsequently  discovered,  he  had  carefully  instructed 
the  doorkeeper  not  to  announce  any  one  for  half  an  hour. 
He  pointed  out  to  me  with  great  detail  that  American 
ambassadors  had  come  and  gone  out  of  Constantinople, 
"while  Schmavonian  went  on  forever."  He  then  said: 
"Now,  the  benefits  of  all  this  knowledge  that  can  be  se 
cured  on  this  trip  will  be  lost  when  you  leave  Constanti 
nople.  Why  not  take  me  along,  and  perpetuate  them?" 
I  laughingly  asked  him  how  long  he  expected  to  stay  in 
the  service  of  the  United  States,  and  he  answered  that  he 
expected  to  die  in  it.  I  hesitated  about  taking  Mr. 
Schmavonian  along,  and  I  told  him  so,  as  I  feared  it  would 
interfere  with  the  activities  of  the  Embassy.  He  quickly 
responded:  "You  know  that  nothing  important  will  be 
done  in  your  absence  without  your  consent,  so  why  not 
have  me  with  you  at  your  elbow,  so  that  you  can  have  the 
benefit  of  my  advice  in  deciding  the  problems  that  may 
come  up  in  performing  your  duties  as  ambassador,  while 
you  are  travelling?"  I  cabled  the  State  Department,  and 
got  their  consent  to  take  him  with  me,  and  he  proved  of 
invaluable  assistance. 

My  party  then  numbered  six,  besides  my  family.  But, 
one  day  in  Cairo,  where  I  stopped  en  route  to  Palestine, 
I  was  approached  by  Chancellor  McCormick  of  the  Uni 
versity  of  Pittsburgh.  After  introducing  himself  and 
exchanging  the  compliments  of  the  day,  he  said:  "I  hear 
you  are  going  to  visit  the  Caves  of  Machpelah.  I  would 
not  have  the  audacity  to  ask  you  upon  so  informal  an  ac 
quaintance  [about  twenty  minutes]  for  permission  to  ac- 


216  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

company  you,  but  if  you  want  to  do  a  real  favour  to  the 
three  thousand  girls  and  boys  who  attend  the  Pittsburgh 
University,  by  enabling  them  to  hear  from  me  all  about 
the  Caves  of  Machpelah,  I  hope  you  will  take  me  with 
you."  His  plea  on  behalf  of  those  fine  young  Americans 
was  irresistible,  and  he  was  promptly  invited. 

That  same  afternoon,  a  very  likely,  rather  clerical- 
looking  young  man  came  up  to  me,  and  said:  "Chancellor 
McCormick  has  told  me  that  he  has  secured  permission  to 
accompany  your  party  to  visit  the  Caves  of  Machpelah 
and  I  thought  that  perhaps  if  you  knew  who  I  was,  you 
would  take  me  along  also."  I  asked:  "Pray,  who  are 
you?"  He  replied:  "My  brother  married  Jessie  Wil 
son."  So  I  said:  "My  dear  Dr.  Sayre,  you  are  most 
cordially  invited  to  join  our  party." 

Proceeding  a  few  days  later  from  Port  Said  to  Jaffa, 
I  discovered  to  my  great  delight  that  Viscount  and  Lady 
Bryce  were  fellow  passengers  on  that  boat.  I  invited 
them  to  join  us  at  our  table,  and  we  had  a  very  pleasant 
talk  until  late  in  the  evening.  I  then  left  the  tireless  old 
Viscount  on  the  deck  with  Schmavonian,  and  a  little  later 
was  just  about  to  retire  for  the  night  when  Schmavonian 
knocked  at  the  door  of  my  stateroom.  He  told  me  that 
he  had,  perhaps  unguardedly,  told  the  Viscount  of  our 
intended  trip  to  the  Caves  of  Machpelah,  and  that  Bryce 
had  expressed  an  ajrdent  desire  to  accompany  us.  I  dis 
cussed  the  matter  with  the  Viscount  on  the  following 
day,  and  he  said:  "You  know  that  I,  as  a  former  British 
Ambassador  to  the  United  States,  could  also  secure  the 
privilege  of  visiting  the  Caves."  I  promptly  told  him 
that  I  would  consider  it  a  great  honour  if  he  and  his  wife 
would  join  our  party. 

When  we  finally  started  our  trip  to  the  Caves  of  Mach 
pelah,  our  party  like  a  rolling  snowball  had  grown  to 
twenty-six  persons.  The  Caves  are  near  the  village  of 


MY  TRIP  TO  THE  HOLY  LAND        217 

Hebron,  some  twenty-odd  miles  north  of  Jerusalem.  We 
drove  thither  in  open  carriages,  and  at  the  end  of  our  jour 
ney  had  an  experience  which  confirmed  my  apprehensions 
regarding  the  susceptibilities  of  the  Arab  Mohammedans. 
As  we  drove  into  Hebron,  a  large  crowd  had  gathered  to 
greet  us  around  an  arch  of  welcome  which  the  Jewish  com 
munities  of  Hebron  had  erected  for  the  occasion.  Just 
as  our  carriage  drew  near  to  the  archway,  a  little  Arab 
child  broke  loose  from  his  parents,  and  ran  directly  in  the 
path  of  our  carriage.  At  a  cry  from  my  wife,  the  driver 
reined  the  horses  back  to  their  haunches,  but  the  child  was 
already  directly  beneath  them.  By  good  fortune  that  was 
little  short  of  a  miracle,  their  hoofs  did  not  touch  him,  and 
he  was  quickly  snatched  to  safety  by  his  panic-stricken 
mother.  But,  I  shall  not  soon  forget  the  black  looks  of 
instinctive  hatred  upon  the  faces  of  the  Arabs  in  that 
throng,  who  looked  upon  us  as  infidel  intruders.  The 
same  looks  and  deep  murmurs  of  disapproval  accompa 
nied  us  as  we  entered  the  sacred  portals  of  their  mosque, 
which  covers  the  Caves  of  Machpelah.  Their  prayer  hour 
had  been  postponed  on  account  of  our  visit.  Once  inside, 
the  spell  of  antiquity,  and  the  great  traditions,  erased  all 
other  impressions  from  our  minds.  Several  of  the  tombs 
were  above  ground,  and  over  them  were  erected  stone  cata 
falques,  their  sides  adorned  with  gorgeously  embroidered 
rugs  and  broken  by  grilled  doorways  through  which  en 
trance  to  the  tomb  itself  was  permitted.  The  other  tombs 
were  in  caves  below  the  floor  of  the  mosque.  They  could 
be  seen  through  holes  left  in  the  floor  for  that  purpose. 
As  we  examined  them  from  above  we  observed  that  two 
of  them,  the  graves  of  Abraham  and  Jacob,  were  littered 
with  pieces  of  paper.  Inquiry  of  our  Moslem  guides  dis 
closed  the  reason.  The  Mohammedans  have  a  belief  that 
the  spirits  of  these  patriarchs  have  a  special  influence  with 
the  Deity,  and  that  their  intervention  in  behalf  of  the 


218  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

faithful  can  be  invoked  by  written  petitions  addressed  to 
them  and  dropped  upon  their  tombs.  Observing  more 
closely,  we  noticed  that  there  was  a  striking  preference 
shown  by  the  petitioners  in  the  greater  number  of  appeals 
that  had  been  made  in  this  manner  to  the  spirit  of  the  one 
rather  than  to  the  spirit  of  the  other.  Further  inquiry 
developed  a  curious  Moslem  tradition  to  the  effect  that 
one  patriarch  was  reputed  to  be  of  a  benign  and  accommo 
dating  disposition,  whereas  the  other  was  supposed  to  be 
irascible.  In  consequence,  the  prudent  worshippers  had 
mostly  addressed  their  petitions  to  the  spirit  which  they 
felt  would  be  more  receptive  and  not  resent  their  intrusion. 

After  inspecting  the  tombs  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and 
Jacob,  we  started  to  make  a  similar  survey  of  the  tombs  of 
Sarah,  Leah,  and  Rebecca.  Our  Moslem  guides  promptly 
stopped  the  men  of  our  party.  They  explained  that  the 
Mohammedan  rule,  that  men  might  not  look  upon  the 
faces  of  women,  applied  to  the  dead  as  well  as  to  the 
living,  and  that  therefore  only  the  ladies  of  our  party 
might  look  within  the  enclosures  which  protected  the 
tombs  of  the  female  saints. 

Our  inspection  of  the  tombs  occupied  considerable 
time,  and  it  was  an  interesting  experience  to  feel  the  spell 
of  their  antiquity  growing  upon  us.  As  the  moments 
slipped  by,  we  felt  ourselves  carried  farther  and  farther 
back  along  the  aisles  of  time  and  into  the  venerable  reali 
ties  of  an  august  past.  From  talkative  sightseers  we 
were  transformed  into  thoughtful  ponderers  upon  these 
impressive  memorials  of  history,  and  finally  into  silent  and 
reverent  worshippers  at  this  shrine  of  three  great  religions. 
As  we  were  about  to  leave,  Dr.  Hoskins  suggested  that 
I  ask  all  of  our  party  to  devote  five  minutes  to  silent 
prayer.  I  did  so,  and  there  we  stood,  Moslems,  Chris 
tians,  and  Jews — all  of  us  conscious  of  the  fact  that  we 
were  in  the  presence  of  the  tombs  of  our  joint  forefathers 


MY  TRIP  TO  THE  HOLY  LAND        219 

— that  no  matter  in  what  details  we  differed,  we  traced 
our  religion  back  to  the  same  source,  and  the  ten  minutes 
to  which  this  prayer  extended  were  undoubtedly  the  most 
sacred  that  I  have  ever  spent  in  my  life. 

Never  have  I  experienced  so  solemn  and  exalted  an 
emotion  as  that  which  filled  my  spirit,  standing  there  in 
worship  at  those  tombs  four  thousand  years  old,  around 
which  converged,  and  met,  a  sublime  religious  history, 
which  had  altered  the  life  of  one  half  the  human  race 
through  forty  centuries. 

I  have  carried  my  narrative  away  from  its  chronological 
sequence  in  order  to  tell  of  our  visit  to  the  Caves  of 
Machpelah  as  one  related  incident.  Returning  now  to 
the  earlier  part  of  our  journey,  our  brief  stops  at  Smyrna 
and  Athens  were  followed  by  a  direct  route  to  Alexandria, 
where  we  arrived  on  March  26th.  Our  Russian  vessel 
ran  up  the  American  flag  at  the  masthead  in  honour  of  our 
presence  aboard,  and  at  the  dock  we  were  further  hon 
oured  by  a  reception  committee  consisting  of  Olney 
Arnold,  the  American  consular  agent  at  Cairo,  Consul 
Garrels,  Captain  Macauley  of  the  Scorpion,  and  Mah- 
moud  Tahgri  Bey,  the  acting  Governor  of  Alexandria. 
The  last-named  was  a  fine  young  man  of  about  twenty- 
eight  years  of  age.  He  told  me  that  for  some  time  Alex 
andria  had  been  without  a  governor,  but  that  the  Khedive 
in  honour  of  my  coming  had  appointed  him  to  that  office, 
especially  to  give  me  a  proper  reception,  and  that  he  had 
only  assumed  his  office  at  eight  o'clock  that  very  morning. 
He  presented  Mrs.  Morgenthau  with  a  bouquet  of  flowers 
and  my  daughter  Ruth  with  a  box  of  marrons  glaces,  with 
the  compliments  of  the  Khedive.  It  was  amusing  to  see 
what  important  stress  he  laid  upon  this — his  first — official 
act.  The  Khedive  had  sent  his  own  official  private  car  for 
our  journey.  At  the  railroad  station  in  Alexandria  the 
Khedivial  Entrance  had  been  opened  for  us,  and  a  cordon 


220  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

of  soldiers  were  lined  upon  either  side  to  secure  us  an  unin 
terrupted  passageway; the  Khedive  had  neglected  nothing, 
not  even  forgetting  to  provide  a  delicious  luncheon,  which 
was  served  us  in  his  car,  as  we  proceeded  to  Cairo. 

We  arrived  in  time  to  drive  out  and  view  the  Pyramids 
before  going  to  Arnold's  house  for  dinner.  There  Arnold 
acquainted  me  with  a  curious  complication  which  arose  out 
of  my  wish  to  meet  Lord  Kitchener.  He  explained  to 
me  the  anomalous  position  which  Kitchener  occupied  in 
Egypt.  Though  Great  Britain  absolutely  controlled  that 
country's  destinies,  and  though  Kitchener,  as  the  repre 
sentative  of  Britain,  was  practically  dictator,  Egypt  was 
nominally  a  part  of  the  Turkish  Empire,  and  the  Khedive 
was  the  head  of  its  government.  Kitchener's  official  title 
was  British  Agent  and  Consul-General,  and  as  such,  on 
ceremonial  occasions,  he  ranked  far  below  not  merely  the 
Khedive,  but  myself,  as  an  Ambassador.  When  Arnold 
had  told  Kitchener  of  my  coming,  and  that  I  wished  to 
meet  him,  he  expressed  a  cordial  interest  in  the  interview, 
but  was  somewhat  puzzled  how  to  meet  the  question  of 
precedence.  If  he  recognized  me  at  Cairo  as  Ambassador 
from  the  United  States,  it  might  embarrass  him  in  main 
taining  the  attitude  that  Great  Britain  was  taking  in 
regard  to  Turkish  rights  in  Egypt.  If  Kitchener  invited 
me  to  meet  him,  the  question  of  rank  would  come  up.  This 
question  had  arisen  before,  because  even  the  other  consuls- 
general  who  had  arrived  at  Cairo  earlier  than  Kitchener 
outranked  him  in  diplomatic  precedence.  This  problem, 
however,  had  been  solved  by  an  ingenious  device.  When 
ever  Kitchener  was  invited  to  a  function  where  it  was 
likely  to  arise,  he  was  requested  to  act  as  host  and  thereby 
secured  the  place  of  honour. 

I  resolved  Arnold's  perplexity  and  Kitchener's  by  say 
ing  that  I  had  no  intention  of  standing  on  my  rights,  and 
would  be  glad  to  pay  Kitchener  an  informal  call,  as  I 


MY  TRIP  TO  THE  HOLY  LAND        221 

certainly  did  not  wish  to  leave  Cairo  without  seeing  him. 
When  Kitchener  received  this  message,  he  promptly  in 
vited  me  to  call  at  ten  o'clock  the  following  morning.  He 
was  evidently  informed  of  my  intention  to  call  on  the 
Khedive  at  eleven  o'clock  and  wished  me  to  call  on  him 
(Kitchener)  first.  This  call  was  very  brief.  After  the 
exchange  of  the  customary  formalities,  Kitchener 
launched  into  numerous  questions  about  Turkey.  He 
wished  to  know  more  about  the  men  who  made  up  the 
Committee  of  Union  and  Progress.  He  was  especially  in 
terested  in  the  Grand  Vizier,  Prince  Said  Halim,  to  whom 
the  Young  Turk  Government  had  promised  the  place  of 
the  Khedive  of  Egypt — a  position  which  he  was  qualified 
to  fill  on  its  social  side  by  virtue  of  his  aristocratic  lineage 
and  superior  education.  Kitchener  asked  me  to  explain, 
if  I  could,  how  a  man  of  Said  Halim's  antecedents  had 
come  to  be  associated  with  "such  uncouth  cut-throats"  as 
Talaat  and  Enver. 

We  had  scarcely  gotten  into  an  intimate  conversation 
when  I  realized  that  I  must  hurry  back  to  my  hotel  where 
the  Khedive's  carriage  was  to  call  for  me  shortly  before 
eleven  o'clock.  Kitchener  said  that  he  wished  to  continue 
the  conversation,  and  asked  me  if  I  would  not  bring  Mrs. 
Morgenthau  and  my  daughter  to  lunch  with  him  two  days 
later.  I  accepted  the  invitation. 

At  eleven  o'clock  the  Khedive's  carriage  arrived  to  take 
me  to  the  Palace  for  my  official  call.  Policemen  were 
posted  at  every  cross  street  along  the  entire  route,  so  as  to 
give  us  an  uninterrupted  right  of  way  and  to  give  us 
proper  recognition.  I  was  delighted  with  my  conference 
with  the  Khedive.  He  proved  to  be  a  thoroughly  up-to- 
date,  modern  enterprising  business  man  without  any  frills 
or  assumption  of  airs.  He  met  me  at  the  door  of  the 
reception  room,  led  me  to  a  sofa,  sat  down  next  to  me,  and 
while  sipping  the  inevitable  Turkish  coffee,  talked  to  me 


222  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

for  about  half  an  hour  about  some  of  his  investments  in 
Turkey,  and  told  me  of  his  intention  to  occupy  his  sum 
mer  residence  on  the  Bosphorus  at  Yenikeny  where  I  also 
had  taken  summer  quarters.  He  then  said  that  he 
regretted  exceedingly  that,  before  he  had  learned  of 
my  impending  visit,  he  had  made  an  appointment  which 
would  require  him  to  leave  town  that  afternoon,  and  he 
asked,  in  consequence,  if  he  might  not  return  my  visit 
that  same  day.  I  told  him  that  he  reminded  me  of  a 
Japanese  student  who,  after  paying  a  two-hour  afternoon 
call  on  a  lady  in  Boston,  and  receiving  from  her  when  he 
left  a  polite  invitation  to  call  again,  walked  around  the 
block  three  times,  and  paid  her  a  second  visit.  The 
Khedive  laughed  heartily,  and  though  I  assured  him  that 
I  would  gladly  waive  the  formality  which  required  him  to 
return  my  visit,  he  insisted  that  he  wished  to  continue  the 
conversation,  and  would  call  later  in  the  day. 

Consequently,  that  same  afternoon,  the  Khedive  re 
turned  my  call  at  the  Consular  Agency,  continuing  the 
conversation  as  though  there  had  been  no  interruption. 
He  told  me  of  the  enormous  cotton  exports  of  Egypt 
valued  at  two  hundred  million  dollars  a  year,  and  how  his 
forefathers  had  developed  the  cotton  industry  in  Egypt. 
As  Kitchener  had  done,  he  asked  numerous  questions 
about  the  conditions  in  Turkey,  and  was  very  solicitous 
about  the  activities  of  the  Government,  and  their  relation 
to  the  diplomatic  situation  in  Constantinople.  It  was  a 
very  curious  experience  to  sit  with  one  of  the  Oriental 
potentates  on  an  absolutely  equal  footing,  and  to  hear  him 
talk  about  commercial  and  political  affairs  in  perfectly 
good  English,  and  in  a  business  vernacular. 

The  day  after  I  exchanged  calls  with  the  Khedive  I 
had  a  very  interesting  visit  from  his  brother,  Ali  Mehem- 
mid,  who  called  on  me,  and  we  talked  for  two  hours.  He 
proved  to  be  a  thoroughly  chauvinistic  Oriental,  even  as- 


MY  TRIP  TO  THE  HOLY  LAND        223 

suring  me  that  he  had  remained  single  because  he  wanted 
absolute  freedom  in  his  political  moves.  He  had  travelled 
a  great  deal,  and  his  pride  and  patriotism  were  deeply 
wounded  by  the  fact  that  Egypt  had  to  submit  to  British 
protection.  Under  the  pressure  of  my  questions,  he  ad 
mitted  that  the  Egyptians  had  greatly  benefited  by  British 
rule,  but  he  claimed  that  these  benefits  were  more  than 
counterbalanced  by  the  evils  which  the  European  customs 
and  schools  had  introduced  into  his  country.  He  felt  that 
the  schools  depraved  the  Egyptian  children,  and  that  the 
Egyptian  women  had  been  much  happier  before  they  read 
European  novels  and  became  slaves  of  the  modes.  He 
admitted  that  the  Orientals  were  imitators,  and  would 
eventually  have  to  find  some  way  of  "Orientalizing  the 
Occidental  Progress,"  which  I  thought  was  a  neat  way 
of  putting  it.  He  disliked  the  Union  and  Progress  Party 
in  Turkey  because  its  members  lacked  breeding,  and  expe 
rience  in  administration.  He  believed  that  the  Arabs  and 
Turks  living  in  Turkey  would  not  permit  the  Constitu 
tional  Turks  to  trade  them  away  in  order  to  save  their  five 
vilayets  in  and  near  Europe.  I  returned  Prince  Mehem- 
mid's  visit  the  next  day,  and  was  greatly  surprised  to  see 
that  he  was  building  an  Egyptian  palace.  He  had  none 
but  Egyptian  workmen,  and  was  having  magnificent 
wood  carvings  done  right  on  the  premises.  He  showed 
me  his  stables,  and  told  me  he  had  purchased  the  best 
specimens  of  pure  Arab  breed,  and  was  determined,  for 
the  sake  of  Egypt,  to  perpetuate  the  finest  breed  of  Ara 
bian  horses. 

During  our  several  days  in  Cairo  we  had  a  number  of 
interesting  experiences,  including  various  meetings  with 
the  Jews,  which  I  shall  describe  in  another  chapter.  After 
a  visit  to  the  oldest  Coptic  church,  which  was  built  four 
teen  hundred  years  ago  on  the  site  of  a  temple  that  stood 
on  a  spot  where  the  Arabs  first  entered  Cairo,  we  went  to 


224  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

the  famous  Cairo  University.  Our  guide  was  Arif  Pasha, 
the  representative  of  the  Khedive,  who  had  been  a  school 
mate  of  Mr.  Schmavonian.  He  introduced  us  to  the 
Sheikh-ul-Islam,  who  took  us  to  see  the  pupils.  This  was 
a  never-to-be-forgotten  sight.  Ten  thousand  pupils  were 
seated  on  the  floors  of  the  institution,  there  being  no  chairs 
or  benches.  Squatting  on  the  ground,  which  was  covered 
with  stones,  all  of  them  were  intently  listening  to  readings 
or  explanations  by  priests  and  teachers,  all  of  them  obvi 
ously  very  poor,  and  all  equally  sincere  and  earnest.  The 
scholars  were  from  many  lands  and  races — from  India,  all 
parts  of  Turkey  and  the  provinces,  Abyssinia,  even  ne 
groes  from  Somaliland.  I  have  never  seen  so  many  people 
apparently  so  insatiable  for  knowledge,  and  so  tremen 
dously  absorbed  in  acquiring  it  amid  such  squalid  condi 
tions.  They  seemed  perfectly  content,  and,  yet,  I  was 
told,  they  live  on  next  to  nothing.  Each  receives  at  the 
beginning  of  the  week  a  certain  number  of  flexible  pieces 
of  bread,  and  they  have  to  divide  them  up  themselves  so 
that  they  will  last  for  the  succeeding  seven  days.  They 
sleep  on  miserable  cots,  four  and  five  in  one  room. 

At  last  came  our  luncheon  with  Lord  Kitchener.  Even 
at  this  private  luncheon  I  could  foresee  that  the  question 
of  precedence  was  bound  to  present  itself,  and  I  was  in 
terested  to  learn  how  he  was  going  to  circumvent  it. 
When  we  arrived,  I  was  very  much  amused  at  the  in 
genuity  he  had  displayed  in  evading  it.  In  his  dining 
room  he  had  had  two  separate  tables  set,  at  one  of  which  he 
presided  with  Mrs.  Morgenthau  at  his  right,  and  at  the 
other  of  which  his  sister  presided,  and  I  sat  at  her  right. 
After  luncheon,  he  took  us  through  some  of  the  rooms,  and 
showed  us  his  wonderful  collection  of  Russian  ikons,  de 
scribing  how  he  had  gathered  them,  and  drawing  our 
attention  to  those  that  were  especially  attractive.  Then 
he  took  me  into  a  small  room,  closed  the  door,  and  we  had 


MY  TRIP  TO  THE  HOLY  LAND        225 

an  intimate  lengthy  conversation.  He  had  profound 
reasons  for  being  intensely  interested  in  the  personalities 
and  ambitions  of  the  new  Young  Turk  Government  in 
Constantinople,  and  he  evidently  intended  to  take  full 
advantage  of  my  freshly  acquired  knowledge,  for  he  prac 
tically  put  me  on  the  witness  stand  on  this  subject,  and 
indulged  in  a  very  thorough  cross  examination. 

With  Egypt  nominally  a  protectorate  of  Turkey,  and 
in  view  of  Great  Britain's  interest  in  Egypt,  it  was  enor 
mously  important  for  Kitchener  to  get  at  the  actual  facts 
of  what  was  going  on  at  the  capital  of  Turkey.  He  could 
not  understand  how  Said  Halim,  who  was  the  cousin  of 
the  Khedive  and  was  wedded  to  an  Egyptian  princess,  was 
permitting  these  Young  Turks  to  use  him  as  a  figure-head, 
and  allowing  them  to  encroach  upon  his  prerogatives  as 
Grand  Vizier.  Kitchener  told  me  that  he  knew  all  about 
the  Sultan,  and  realized  how  impotent  he  was  to  exert  any 
influence,  or  to  assume  any  real  authority;  that  he  had 
expected  that  Said  Halim  would  be  the  real  power  in 
Turkey,  but  that  his  present  information  was  that  Talaat 
and  his  Committee  of  Union  and  Progress  were  develop 
ing  into  the  real  authority.  He  was  especially  anxious  to 
know  all  about  Enver.  He  was  surprised  that  a  man  like 
Enver  who  had  never  won  a  battle  and  was  only  a  revolu 
tionist,  and  not  a  soldier,  should  be  raised  from  the  rank 
of  major  to  be  Minister  of  War,  because,  in  Turkey,  the 
Minister  of  War  was  really  the  head  of  the  army.  Kitch 
ener  also  asked  me  what  the  true  condition  of  the  Turkish 
army  was,  and  whether  his  information  was  correct  that 
Turkey  was  rapidly  disintegrating.  He  thought  that 
these  inexperienced  men  would  never  be  able  to  master 
the  situation,  and  re-assert  their  authority  over  lost 
territories.  He  was  anxious  to  know  the  attitude  of  the 
foreign  ambassadors  toward  the  Young  Turks — how  they 
treated  them — and  whether  they  mixed  with  them  socially; 


226  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

and  he  was  astonished  when  I  told  him  that  the  German 
Ambassador  was  the  only  one  who  had  any  real  contact 
with,  and  influence  over,  the  Young  Turks. 

I  answered  all  his  questions  as  fully  as  I  could  with 
propriety,  and  then,  in  turn,  began  to  ply  him  with  ques 
tions  of  my  own.  I  asked  him  whether  he  was  satisfied 
with  England's  progress  in  Egypt.  In  reply,  he  went 
into  a  very  elaborate  and  interesting  explanation  of  Great 
Britain's  colonial  policy,  and  explained  his  conception  of 
empire  building.  He  pointed  out  the  definite  continuity 
that  had  existed  in  Great  Britain's  growth,  and  how 
essential  it  was  for  her  to  make  secure  the  avenues  of  ap 
proach  for  her  commerce  from  England  to  India.  He 
expressed  the  opinion  that  the  English — both  by  reason 
of  their  flexible  character,  their  equitable  system  of  admin 
istering  justice,  their  willingness  to  preserve  established 
customs  and  respect  for  religious  institutions,  and  their 
long  experience  in  such  enterprises — were  the  best 
equipped  of  all  peoples  for  colonial  administration.  He 
told  me  about  some  of  his  experiences  in  developing  the 
Soudan;  and  in  his  description  of  this  work,  and  of  the 
work  of  the  British  Empire  builders  in  other  parts  of  the 
world,  he  talked  of  the  Colonies  in  the  same  manner,  and 
from  much  the  same  viewpoint,  as  I  had  been  accustomed 
to  hear  among  business  men  in  New  York  who  were  devel 
oping  some  big  business  combination  or  trust. 

I  left  Lord  Kitchener  with  an  impression  of  a  man  of 
sound  business  and  political  sense,  powerful  force  of  will, 
and  an  intense  patriotism. 

When  we  bade  farewell  to  Cairo,  we  passed  again 
through  the  Khedivial  Entrance,  and  again  entered  the 
Khedive's  private  car,  which  sped  us  part  of  the  way  along 
the  Suez  Canal  to  Port  Said.  We  spent  an  hour  inspecting 
the  Canal  at  its  mouth  and  the  DeLesseps  monument,  and 
then  boarded  the  steamer  which  was  to  carry  us  to  Jaffa 


MY  TRIP  TO  THE  HOLY  LAND        227 

on  the  coast  of  Palestine.  It  was  on  this  steamer  that 
we  had  the  good  fortune  to  meet  Viscount  Bryce  and  his 
wife.  This  meeting  was  the  beginning  of  a  friendship 
which  I  valued  most  highly.  On  this  trip  I  first  had 
occasion  to  observe  his  method  of  obtaining  information, 
which  doubtless  accounts  for  a  part  of  his  remarkable 
equipment  as  an  historian.  He  was  quite  the  greatest 
living  questioner  that  I  have  ever  met.  He  had  developed 
cross  examination  to  a  fine  art  of  picking  men's  brains. 
Most  other  men  gather  their  information  from  books.  It 
was  a  joy  to  be  permitted  to  attend  his  seances  with  people 
who  possessed  information.  He  first  put  them  completely 
at  ease  by  ascertaining  what  subjects  they  were  thoroughly 
posted  on,  and  then,  with  a  beneficent  suavity,  he  made 
them  willing  contributors  to  his  own  unlimited  store  of 
knowledge.  His  thirst  for  facts  was  unquenchable.  Ques 
tion  followed  question  almost  like  the  report  of  shots  fired 
from  a  machine  gun.  By  this  process,  I  have  seen  him 
rifle  every  recess  of  the  minds  of  men  like  Schmavonian, 
who  was  a  storehouse  of  Turkish  history,  custom,  and  tra 
dition,  and  of  Dr.  Franklin  E.  Hoskins,  who  is  a  profound 
scholar  in  Bible  history.  His  method  was  physically  ex 
hausting  to  his  victims,  and  in  the  hands  of  a  less  delightful 
personality  would  have  been  intolerable.  But  Lord 
Bryce  was  as  charming  as  he  was  inquisitive,  and  more 
than  that,  he  gave  out  of  his  vast  erudition  as  freely  as  he 
received. 

The  morning  after  my  first  cross  examination  at  his 
hands  we  arrived  at  Jaffa  and  proceeded  on  our  tour 
through  Palestine. 

After  the  customary  visits  to  the  shrines  of  the  Chris 
tians  and  the  Jews  and  the  Moslems  (whose  interest  and 
significance  were  doubled  by  the  eloquence  and  learning 
of  Dr.  Hoskins  and  Mf.  Schmavonian),  we  proceeded 
northward  toward  Nabulus  and  Damascus.  On  our 


228  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

way  thither  we  made  a  side  trip  westward  to  witness  the 
Samaritan  Easter  sacrifice  on  Mount  Gerizim.  These 
Samaritans  are  one  of  the  most  interesting  surviving  rem 
nants  of  antiquity  in  the  world.  They  have  scrupulously 
refrained  from  marrying  outside  their  tribe,  and  have  re 
tained  unchanged  the  customs  which  their  lineal  ancestors 
observed  in  the  remotest  Biblical  times,  antedating  the 
Christian  Era  by  many  centuries.  The  total  population 
in  March,  1919,  was  only  one  hundred  and  forty-one. 
During  Easter  week  they  dwell  in  about  twenty  camps, 
living  the  life  of  their  ancestors,  and  worshipping  God  in 
accordance  with  customs  nearly  four  thousand  years  old. 
Each  year  at  Easter-tide  they  ascend  Mount  Gerizim 
which  they  claim  is  the  original  Mount  Moriah,  to  per 
form  the  ancient  sacrifices  after  the  manner,  and  as  they 
claim,  on  the  spot  where  Abraham  performed  them  at  the 
time  when  he  offered  to  sacrifice  Isaac.  When  we  reached 
their  encampment  on  Mount  Gerizim,  we  called  on  the 
High  Priest,  Jacob-ben- Aaron  who,  after  we  had  paid  our 
respects,  asked  us  if  we  wished  to  go  over  the  grounds,  and 
have  the  various  things  explained  to  us.  He  was  too  old 
to  accompany  us,  and  consequently  requested  two 
senior  priests  to  act  in  his  stead.  They  showed  us 
the  ruins  of  the  Temple  which  Abraham  had  erected,  the 
spot  where  he  had  suddenly  discovered  the  ram  who  saved 
Isaac  from  the  sacrifice,  and  the  altar  where  the  ancient 
sacrifices  took  place. 

Just  before  sundown,  the  Samaritans  gathered  and  be 
gan  the  services  which  were  to  last  all  through  the  night. 
They  began  with  prayer  and  song,  which  were  kept  up 
for  more  than  an  hour  until  the  sun  had  set.  They  then 
killed  seven  beautiful  white  lambs,  and  put  them  into  a 
great  hole  in  the  ground,  in  which  fires  had  been  burning 
for  a  week.  This  was  in  accordance  with  the  law  which 
prescribes  that  no  flames  shall  touch  the  meat  of  sacrifice. 


MY  TRIP  TO  THE  HOLY  LAND        229 

So  the  fires  were  removed  before  the  carcasses  were 
placed  in  the  pits  and  covered  with  earth,  after  which  the 
intense  heat  of  the  ground  accomplished  the  necessary 
roasting.  The  Samaritans  then  resumed  their  prayers 
and  singing,  which  by  alternating,  they  kept  up  unbroken 
until  a  quarter  to  twelve,  midnight.  In  the  meantime,  we 
occupied  our  two  tents  which  had  been  erected  by  the 
American  colony  at  Jerusalem  for  our  use — one  of  the 
tents  for  repose,  and  the  other  a  dining  room  where  we 
took  our  evening  meal.  Some  of  the  ladies  wrapped  them 
selves  in  rugs  and  went  to  sleep  on  steamer  chairs,  and 
the  girls  sat  about  chatting,  while  Doctors  Bliss  and  Hos- 
kins  and  I  visited  the  different  tents  of  the  Samaritans, 
and  had  long  talks  with  the  High  Priest  and  other  priests. 
The  High  Priest  explained  to  us  that  the  material  con 
dition  of  the  tribes  was  very  bad.  The  Arabs  disliked 
them  and  barely  tolerated  them.  He,  himself,  was  sup 
posed  to  live  on  a  tithe  of  the  income  of  the  tribe,  but  he 
said  that  this  amount  would  not  suffice  to  keep  him  for 
more  than  one  month  of  the  twelve,  so  that  although  he 
was  more  than  seventy-four  years  of  age,  he  used  most  of 
his  time  in  copying  the  Pentateuch  in  Samaritan,  and 
selling  it  whenever  he  could.  Upon  this  hint,  I  bought  a 
copy. 

One  of  the  tents  was  reserved  for  the  unclean  women. 
They  are  not  permitted  to  partake  of  the  holy  meat,  but 
in  return  they  are  allowed  certain  liberties.  They  had  an 
Arab  servant  who  was  dancing  for  them  while  they  were 
beating  time  with  their  hands. 

In  another  tent  we  visited  there  was  a  sick  man  who 
was  being  looked  after  by  a  doctor.  It  was  a  very  queer 
sight.  The  moon  was  shining  brightly  and  you  could  see 
the  men  and  women  sitting  around  and  visiting  one  an 
other,  all  anxiously  awaiting  the  division  of  the  lambs. 
The  High  Priest  excused  himself  for  not  having  provided 


230  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

one  lamb  for  us,  but  he  had  not  anticipated  that  we  would 
remain  there  until  midnight.  Of  course,  he  said,  as  we 
were  not  Samaritans,  he  could  not  offer  us  any  of  the 
sacrificial  meat. 

About  midnight,  the  lambs  were  brought  out  and  there 
were  seven  groups,  and  to  each  group  was  given  a  lamb, 
and  they  divided  it  with  their  hands  and  ate  it  with  their 
fingers — no  knife,  fork,  or  any  other  implement  being 
used.  A  great  many  of  the  men  took  large  chunks  of  the 
meat  to  their  tents,  where  the  women  and  children  were 
waiting.  They  ate  it  ravenously,  as  the  law  prescribes. 

It  was  indeed  a  strange  and  interesting  experience. 
Here,  on  a  fine  moonlight  night,  on  a  lonely  mountain  in 
distant  Palestine,  was  a  little  tribe  of  people  carrying 
out  without  affectation  the  customs  which  their  ancestors 
had  observed  unbroken  for  thousands  of  years,  still  dressed 
in  the  same  garb,  speaking  the  same  language,  and  con 
ducting  themselves  in  the  same  manner  as  the  shepherd 
folk  of  the  time  of  Abraham. 

A  member  of  our  party,  Mr.  Richard  Whiting,  took  a 
number  of  remarkable  flash-light  photographs  of  the 
ceremonies,  a  complete  series  of  reproductions  of  which 
was  published  in  the  National  Geographic  Magazine  some 
years  ago.  Shortly  after  midnight  our  party  started 
homeward.  Most  of  them  were  afraid  to  trust  themselves 
in  the  dark  on  the  horses  and  donkeys,  and  so  they  walked. 
Lord  Bryce  and  I  stuck  to  our  horses,  and  it  was  a  curious 
sight  to  see  our  little  caravan  wending  its  way  toward  the 
hotel  in  the  darkness  of  the  middle  of  the  night — I  with 
my  Samaritan  manuscript,  and  my  daughter  with  one  of 
the  knives  used  for  the  sacrifice,  which  had  been  presented 
to  her  by  one  of  the  Samaritans. 

The  headquarters  from  which  we  had  made  our  excur 
sion  to  Mount  Gerizim  was  the  city  of  Nabulus.  From 
this  same  headquarters  we  made  another  excursion  to 


MY  TRIP  TO  THE  HOLY  LAND        231 

Sebastiyeh,  the  old  Samaritan  capital  of  the  ten  tribes  of 
Judea.  Here  was  the  spot  where  the  Assyrians  besieged 
the  Jews  for  three  years,  and  then,  in  turn,  were  driven 
out  by  Alexander  the  Great.  The  ruins  had  Jewish  foun 
dations  and  superstructures  erected  by  the  Romans  under 
Herod. 

These  two  plunges  into  remote  antiquity  suggested  to 
my  imagination  the  reply  which  I  made  to  the  Governor 
of  Nabulus  when  he  called  one  day  in  great  excitement  to 
say  that  he  had  just  been  notified  that  Talaat  had  tele 
graphed  from  Constantinople  to  ask  whether  we  were 
satisfied  with  our  progress  and  receptions.  The  Governor 
was  very  anxious  to  know  what  he  could  do  for  me,  and 
asked  whether  I  preferred  a  dinner  or  some  other  form 
of  entertainment.  I  replied  that  I  had  had  so  many 
Turkish  dinners,  and  so  many  formal  receptions,  and 
asked  if  he  would  not  arrange  an  Arabian  night.  The 
allusion  evidently  meant  nothing  to  him,  for  I  had  to 
explain  that  I  wanted  to  witness  exactly  how  the  Arabs 
spent  their  evenings,  and  suggested  to  him  that  this 
could  be  done  if  he  would  collect  a  group  of  important 
men  of  the  town  at  some  place  where  they  were  accustomed 
to  gather,  and  permit  me  and  a  few  of  my  friends  to  sit 
in  with  them  as  silent  observers.  The  Governor  caught 
the  spirit  of  my  request,  and  arranged  for  the  entertain 
ment.  At  eight-thirty  the  following  evening  he  and  a 
number  of  his  officials  called  for  us  (Lord  Bryce,  Doctors 
Bliss  and  Hoskins,  Messrs.  Peet,  Schmavonian,  and  my 
self),  and 'led  us  through  the  winding  darkness  of  the 
streets  of  a  real  Arabian  town. 

The  Chief  of  Police  and  three  of  his  assistants  headed 
our  procession.  Each  was  carrying  a  table  lamp  instead 
of  the  ordinary  lantern.  Then  I  followed,  with  the 
Governor  of  Nabulus  on  one  side  and  Viscount  Bryce 
on  the  other,  and  behind  us,  the  rest  of  our  party,  Mah- 


232  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

moud  Tewfik  Hamid,  the  recently  elected  Deputy  of  the 
District,  and  other  prominent  Arabs. 

As  we  walked  through  the  dark,  narrow  little  streets 
bending  in  every  direction,  we  saw  here  and  there  a  shoe 
maker  at  his  work,  and  a  few  fruit  shops  still  tempting 
the  few  passers-by  with  their  wares.  The  air  we  breathed 
was  laden  with  a  pleasing  Oriental  aroma.  At  last,  we 
unexpectedly  found  ourselves  in  a  large  square  courtyard, 
in  the  centre  of  which  was  a  fountain  playing.  From  this 
courtyard  we  were  ushered  into  an  illuminated  room  about 
thirty  feet  square  and  twenty  feet  high.  Marble  divans 
ran  around  the  sides  of  this  room,  covered  with  beautiful 
rugs.  In  the  centre  were  numerous  lamps  of  various 
kinds,  and  the  walls  were  hung  with  rugs.  On  the 
divans  sat,  cross-legged,  twenty-four  of  the  most  prom 
inent  Arabs  of  the  city,  smoking,  drinking  coffee,  sipping 
lemonade,  and  carrying  on  an  animated  conversation. 
Through  the  guide,  a  nephew  of  the  Governor,  I  re 
quested  them  to  continue  their  discussions,  and  to  dis 
regard  our  presence.  The  guide,  in  the  meantime, 
informed  us  as  to  the  pedigree  and  identity  of  the  Arabs 
present. 

Doctor  Bliss  interpreted  for  me.  The  Arabs  were  dis 
cussing  the  expected  completion  of  a  railroad  line  to 
Nabulus,  and  the  effect  it  would  have  upon  the  exports 
of  soap,  which  was  the  principal  product  of  the  city. 
They  were  pleased  to  know  that  they  could  make  up  larger 
packages  than  could  be  carried  by  the  camels,  which  were 
the  only  means  of  transport  at  the  moment,  and  they  were 
figuring  out  the  economy  of  this  innovation.  After  con 
cluding  their  discussion,  they  turned  to  us  and  acted  as 
our  hosts.  They  spoke  with  great  pride  of  their  lineage. 
They  looked,  indeed,  with  their  intelligent  faces  and  dig 
nified  bearing,  like  men  bred  of  good  stock.  One  of  them 
told  me  that  he  had  positive  evidence  at  home  that  his 


MY  TRIP  TO  THE  HOLY  LAND        233 

family  had  lived  in  Nabulus  for  more  than  five  hundred 
years,  and  another  one  traced  his  lineage  back  to  the 
prophet  Mohammed. 

The  scene  reminded  me  of  the  "Thousand  and  One 
Arabian  Nights."  Two  sons  and  two  nephews  of  Ismail 
Agha  Nimr,  the  owner  of  the  house,  were  continually 
flitting  about,  serving  cigarettes,  syrup,  tea,  and  coffee. 
Nothing  could  have  been  more  gracious  or  hospitable  than 
their  manner  toward  us. 

Our  homeward  walk  was  made  under  the  full  moon, 
and  was  as  picturesque  as  had  been  the  one  earlier  in  the 
evening.  Unconsciously,  I  could  not  keep  from  expect 
ing  genii  to  jump  out  at  me  from  one  of  the  little  doors 
of  the  native  houses. 

From  Tiberias,  our  route  led  us  to  Damascus,  where  we 
spent  several  days  exploring  this  most  ancient  of  cities, 
and  the  beautiful  surrounding  country,  and  visiting  the 
very  attractive  ruins  at  Balbek.  Thence,  we  went  to 
Beirut  where  the  Syrian  Protestant  College  is  located — 
one  of  the  finest  American  institutions  in  the  Near  East. 
Here  we  visited  a  very  interesting  Jewish  settlement  also. 
We  then  journeyed  to  Mersine,  Adena,  Tarsus,  and 
Rhodes,  returning  to  Constantinople  on  May  1st. 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1916 

IN  JANUARY,  1916,  I  applied  to  the  State  Depart 
ment  for  a  leave  of  absence,  so  that  I  might  pay  a 
visit  to  the  United  States,  which  I  had  not  seen  for 
more  than  two  years.  I  had  begun  to  feel  the  effects  of 
the  nervous  strain  of  my  labours  to  avert  the  terrible  fate 
of  the  Armenians  and  Jews.  These  labours,  and  my 
experiences  with  German  diplomatic  intrigue  in  Constan 
tinople  during  the  war,  have  already  been  described  in  my 
earlier  book,  published  in  1918  under  the  title,  "Ambas 
sador  Morgenthau's  Story,"  to  which  I  must  refer  any  of 
my  readers  who  are  interested  to  pursue  my  Turkish  ex 
periences  further. 

[I  spent  the  first  few  days  after  my  return  to  the  United 
States  with  my  old  political  friends  in  Washington,  and 
I  was  shocked  at  the  prevailing  political  atmosphere.  Not 
one  of  the  numerous  men  high  in  the  Administration  with 
whom  I  talked  had  the  slightest  hope  that  President 
Wilson  could  be  reflected  that  fall.  They  were  all  con 
vinced  that,  as  the  breach  in  the  Republican  Party  had 
been  healed,  our  political  opponents  were  prepared  to 
present  a  united  front  and  were  determined  to  win;  and 
that,  on  the  other  hand,  the  Administration  had  made  so 
many  enemies  in  the  preceding  three  years  that  the  Pres 
ident's  defeat  in  November  was  a  foregone  conclusioiL^ 
Tammany  had  received  no  consideration  at  his  hands,  and 
was  very  bitter;  and  hence  there  was  little  likelihood  of 
our  carrying  New  York.  "Organization  leaders,"  other 
wise  the  bosses,  generally,  had  been  ignored,  and  the 

234 


THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1916  235 

party  machinery  was  rusty  from  disuse,  where  it  was  not 
actually  broken  down  by  dissension.  William  G.  McAdoo 
told  me  frankly  of  his  intention  shortly  to  resign  from  the 
Cabinet  and  return  to  private  business.  Josephus  Dan 
iels  spoke  hopelessly  of  the  political  outlook.  Frank  L. 
Polk  and  Franklin  D.  Roosevelt  gave  me  the  same  picture 
of  party  dissension,  apathy,  and  despair.  Even  Senator 
James  A.  O'Gorman  of  New  York,  whom  I  had  known 
for  many  years  as  a  man  of  native  optimism  and  Irish 
courage,  said  to  me:  "Henry,  it  is  sheer  insanity  to  talk  of 
reflecting  President  Wilson.  He  hasn't  a  ghost  of  a 
chance.  I  am  convinced  that  the  Democratic  Party  will 
be  buried  under  a  Republican  landslide  this  fall."  But 
after  listening  to  my  enthusiastic  arguments  to  prove  that 
the  President  simply  must  be  reflected  and  that  we  could 
convince  the  country  of  this  necessity,  he  shared  my  con 
viction.  He  said:  "Henry,  if  I  had  had  your  viewpoint 
on  this  matter  earlier,  I  would  have  modified  my  attitude. 
But  I  have  gone  too  far  now:  with  my  record  behind  me, 
I  cannot  make  a  fight  for  reelection  as  Senator." 

My  conversation  with  these  men  shocked  me,  but  did 
not  depress  me.  It  aroused  my  fighting  spirit.  To  my 
mind,  the  reelection  of  President  Wilson  offered  not 
merely  an  opportunity  for  partisan  advantage,  but  I  felt 
profoundly  that  the  condition  of  international  affairs 
made  it  a  vital  necessity  to  our  safety  as  a  nation,  and  to 
the  cause  of  humanity  the  world  over,  because  the  rest  of 
the  world  was  looking  to  Mr.  Wilson  to  be  ultimately  the 
man  who  should  bring  about  peace.  I  pointed  out  to  my 
friends  the  force  of  these  arguments,  and  the  folly,  from 
our  national  point  of  view,  of  changing  Administrations 
at  such  a  critical  juncture  in  our  history.  If  a  Repub 
lican  were  elected  in  November,  Mr.  Wilson's  hands  would 
practically  be  tied  for  the  remaining  four  months  of  his 
Administration,  while  the  President-Elect  would  be 


236  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

equally  impotent  to  take  effective  measures  to  safeguard 
our  interests  in  international  affairs. 

I  stressed  the  need  to  arouse  the  party  from  its  lethargy, 
and  to  begin  at  once  a  powerful  and  nation-wide  campaign 
to  reelect  the  President.  The  Cabinet  officers  at  Washing 
ton  responded  to  the  enthusiasm  which  I  poured  into  this 
enterprise,  and  I  soon  had  some  members  of  the  National 
Committee  awake  and  actively  cooperating.  At  a  con 
ference  with  Mr.  Burleson,  I  discovered  that  the  Congres 
sional  Campaign  Committee  had  done  nothing.  He  sent 
for  Mr.  Doremus  of  Michigan,  whose  duty  it  was  to  launch 
this  Congressional  campaign.  He  painted  a  gloomy 
picture  of  the  outlook  for  the  Congressional  elections. 
"We  have  no  money  to  help  the  boys  make  their  fights 
for  reelection,  and  we  have  no  one  to  whom  we  can  go  and 
get  it.  Many  of  them  are  thoroughly  discouraged,  and 
see  no  use  in  trying  to  do  anything  for  the  party,  so  they 
are  just  waiting  for  the  end  and  planning  to  go  back 
into  private  life."  I  asked  Mr.  Doremus:  "What  is  the 
minimum  amount  necessary  to  start  vigorous  work  for 
their  reelection?  I  don't  want  to  know  how  much  you 
want,  but  how  little  you  can  possibly  get  along  with." 
He  named  a  modest  figure,  but  declared  that  even  this 
was  impossible  to  raise.  I  promptly  under-wrote  it  per 
sonally,  and  he  went  to  work  eagerly;  and  he  afterward 
reported  to  me  that  this  action  greatly  changed  the  atti 
tude  of  the  Congressmen  when  they  realized  that  help 
was  at  hand  to  make  a  real  fight  for  the  election.  It 
practically  created  several  hundred  active  campaign  man 
agers  at  a  stroke. 

(l^then  returned  to  New  York,  and  on  my  own  respon 
sibility,  leased  national  headquarters  at  No.  30  East 
Forty-second  Street,  signing  the  lease  in  my  own  name, 
after  I  had  shown  the  rooms  to  Colonel  House  and  Charles 
R.  Crane,  who  approved  my  selection.  I  bought  and 


THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1916  237 

rented  furniture,  typewriters,  and  other  supplies,  and  got 
everything  in  shape  so  that  the  moment  the  approaching 
Convention  was  over,  and  the  new  Campaign  Committee 
named,  they  would  find  the  tools  for  their  work  ready  to 
hand,  and  could  go  on  the  job  without  the  delay  we  had 
experienced  in  1912^) 

In  view  of  the  hopelessness  which  I  had  found  among 
the  party  leaders,  and  in  view  of  the  very  narrow  margin 
by  which  Mr.  Hughes  was  defeated  the  following  No 
vember,  I  take  pride  in  the  consciousness  that  my  activities 
were  one  of  the  necessary  factors  that  led  to  Mr.  Wilson's 
reelection  in  1916. 

I  shall  return  later  in  this  article  to  other  dramatic 
incidents  of  that  campaign,  including  some  of  the  exciting 
events  of  Election  Night  that  are  not  generally  known. 

Meanwhile,  in  addition  to  the  negative  difficulties  of 
apathy  and  despair,  there  were  numerous  positive  troubles 
that  needed  immediate  attention.  I  shall  describe  one 
of  these  problems  in  which  I  was  called  upon  to  take 
a  hand  personally  in  straightening  it  out.  It  concerned 
the  appointment  of  a  Postmaster  for  New  York  City. 
Here  was  a  dangerous  political  situation.  The  late 
John  Purroy  Mitchel  was  then  Mayor  of  New  York 
City,  and  was  making  a  splendid  record.  His  presence 
in  that  position  was  of  course  a  standing  annoy 
ance  to  Tammany  Hall,  which  he  had  fought  all  his  life. 
Tammany  was  already  irritated  enough  at  the  Adminis 
tration,  because  of  President  Wilson's  unbending  oppo 
sition.  Some  of  the  party  managers  in  the  Administration 
at  Washington  had  thought  to  placate  Tammany  by  a 
tardy  recognition  of  the  "Wigwam"  in  the  shape  of  an 
appointment  of  a  Postmaster  agreeable  to  Murphy. 
Postmaster  General  Burleson  had  manipulated  this  ar 
rangement,  and  when  I  arrived  in  Washington,  I  found 
that  the  appointment  of  a  Tammany  man  to  be  Post- 


238  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

master  had  proceeded  so  far  that  the  commission  was  on 
President  Wilson's  desk  for  him  to  sign.  The  man  to 
be  named  was  Joseph  Johnson,  who  was  an  intimate  asso 
ciate  of  Murphy's,  and  who  had  done  some  very  aggressive 
publicity  work  for  Tammany  Hall.  Murphy  had  had 
him  appointed  Fire  Commissioner  of  New  York  under 
Mayor  Gaynor,  and  Mayor  Mitchel  had  displaced  him 
when  he  succeeded  Gaynor.  In  retaliation,  Johnson  had 
taken  great  pleasure  in  spreading  political  propaganda 
adverse  to  Mitchel,  so  that  there  was  an  intense  political 
feud  between  the  two  men.  I  realized  that  Johnson's 
appointment  as  Postmaster  would  deeply  offend  the 
better  element  of  the  Democrats  in  New  York,  and  would 
cause  such  dissension  as  probably  to  result  in  our  losing 
the  state  and  national  election.  I  knew,  too  (and  this 
was  perhaps  of  even  greater  importance),  that  Johnson's 
appointment  would  be  so  repugnant  to  the  New  York 
World  that  this  brilliant  champion  of  President  Wilson 
and  his  policies  would  be  disgusted  and  would  lose  the 
fine  enthusiasm  that  made  its  support  so  effective.  I 
therefore  went  to  the  White  House,  and  called  upon 
President  Wilson. 

I  presented  my  arguments  against  Johnson's  selection 
with  all  the  force  of  which  I  was  capable,  but  found  that 
the  President  took  only  a  languid  interest  in  my  attempt 
to  re-open  a  subject  which  he  considered  closed.  The 
nearest  approach  to  rousing  him  which  I  achieved,  was 
when  I  pointed  out  to  the  President  that  Johnson's  ap 
pointment  would  alienate  John  Purroy  Mitchel.  He 
thereupon  flashed  out  with,  "Mitchel  is  no  help  to  us 
anyway."  "  I  then  realized  the  President's  deep  irritation 
at  Mitchel's  active  campaign  for  military  preparedness, 
which  he  had  pushed  so  vigorously  that  it  amounted,  on 
the  one  hand,  to  a  threat  that  he  would  leave  the  party  if 
a  preparedness  programme  were  not  undertaken,  and  on 


THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1916  239 

the  other,  to  a  serious  embarrassment  of  the  President's 
carefully  considered  foreign  policy.  The  President  finally 
tried  to  dismiss  the  subject  by  saying  that  I  had  come  too 
late,  that  Burleson  had  arranged  the  whole  matter,  and 
that  the  commission  was  on  his  desk  for  signature.  I  then 
asked  him  as  a  personal  favour  not  to  sign  the  commission 
for  a  few  days,  and  to  this  he  consented. 

I  then  made  a  call  upon  the  Postmaster  General.  Mr. 
Burleson  evidently  misjudged  the  temper  of  my  resolu 
tion.  In  our  association  in  the  campaign  of  1912  he  had 
never  seen  me  thoroughly  aroused,  and  did  not  realize 
that  I  was  so  now.  He  argued  the  matter  in  a  soothing 
manner,  and  at  length  made  me  the  astounding  proposal, 
not  only  that  I  should  assent  to  the  nomination  of  John 
son,  but  that  I  should  write  a  letter  to  the  President  com 
mending  it.  I  evidently  astonished  the  General  with  the 
vigour  of  my  reply.  I  informed  him  emphatically  that  I 
would  not  write  such  a  letter,  and  practically  challenged 
him  to  see  which  of  us  would  have  the  final  say  regarding 
the  nomination. 

I  next  sought  Colonel  House  to  get  his  advice  and 
cooperation.  I  got  only  the  advice — and  a  glimpse  into 
the  true  nature  of  his  relationship  with  the  President. 
He  told  me  that  it  was  his  custom  to  present  freely  to 
the  President  his  views  upon  questions  of  the  moment, 
but  that  he  believed  that  it  was  'the  President's  duty  to 
decide,  and  that  once  the  President  had  expressed  an 
opinion,  it  was  not  proper  for  him  to  argue  the  matter 
with  him. 

I  did  not  accept  Colonel  House's  advice.  I  was  con 
fident  that  my  judgment  of  the  Johnson  appointment  was 
sound,  and  I  felt  no  hesitation  in  renewing  my  effort  to 
convince  Mr.  Wilson.  I  returned  to  the  White  House, 
and  resumed  my  argument.  I  pointed  out  to  the  Presi 
dent  the  danger  of  losing  the  enthusiasm  of  the  New  York 


240  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

World  and  the  extreme  importance  of  carrying  New  York 
in  the  fall  election,  and  the  embarrassment  which  Johnson 
would  cause  us  in  that  effort.  "Do  you  mean  to  say," 
demanded  the  President,  "that  if  I  appoint  Johnson  Post 
master,  it  will  cost  us  New  York  in  November?" 

I  understood  the  President's  psychology  well  enough 
not  to  answer  with  a  direct  affirmative.  If  I  had  said 
"Yes,"  the  Scotch-Irish  in  him  would  have  instantly  re 
plied,  "Then,  I  don't  care  if  we  do  lose  it."  Worse  yet, 
he  would  have  doubted  my  own  loyalty  and  fighting  spirit. 
I  replied,  therefore,  somewhat  less  directly.  Recalling 
Mr.  Wilson's  enthusiasm  for  golf,  I  said :  "No,  Mr.  Pres 
ident,  I  do  not  mean  that.  What  I  do  mean  is  that  you 
will  put  an  enormous  bunker  in  our  way  and  it  will  require 
great  skill  for  us  to  get  over  it."  This  answer  pleased 
him,  and  we  continued  the  discussion.  "Whom  else  could 
I  name?"  he  asked  me.  I  answered  truthfully  that  I 
had  no  candidate;  and  that  I  was  concerned  only  to  pre 
vent  Johnson's  selection,  and  had  not  the  slightest  objec 
tion  to  his  selecting  a  good  Tammanyite  for  the  position. 
I  added  that  two  Tammany  men  occurred  to  me  as  being 
unobjectionable,  State  Senator  Robert  E.  Wagner,  or 
Assemblyman  Alfred  E.  Smith. 

The  President  finally  agreed  not  to  appoint  Johnson, 
and  several  days  later,  telegraphed  me  in  New  York, 
asking  me  to  offer  the  position  to  Senator  Wagner.  I 
did  so,  and  almost  persuaded  him  to  accept  it,  with  his 
proviso  that  he  should  get  Murphy's  consent.  This  he 
failed  to  obtain,  so  that  for  the  rest  of  the  year  the  Re 
publican  incumbent  continued  to  hold  the  office.  Tam 
many  would  not  have  been  placated  anyway  by  this  one 
sop  thrown  to  them  at  the  last  minute,  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  I  had  the  satisfaction  of  preventing  the  defection  of 
Mitchel  and  the  weakening  of  the  New  York  World's 
support. 


THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1916  241 

President  Wilson  was  re-nominated  unanimously  at 
the  Convention  at  St.  Louis  in  July.  The  next  question 
was  to  name  the  Chairman  of  the  Campaign  Committee 
so  that  we  could  proceed  at  once  to  vigorous  action.  I 
was  suggested  for  the  position,,  and  I  promptly  refused 
to  consider  it,  pointing  out  that  my  antagonism  to  Tam 
many  would  certainly  cause  the  organization  in  New 
York  to  resent  my  appointment.  The  various  state  or 
ganization  leaders  were  already  irritated  enough  over  the 
lack  of  consideration  that  they  had  received  throughout 
the  Wilson  Administration.  Some  of  them  were  deter 
mined  to  revolt  unless  a  chairman  should  be  named  from 
the  recognized  party  workers  of  the  National  Committee. 
The  President  has  the  right  to  name  the  man  who  shall 
manage  his  campaign  for  reelection,  and  his  advisers  were 
distinctly  worried  over  the  attitude  of  the  organization 
leaders.  I  was  asked  to  suggest  someone  to  act  as  Treas 
urer  of  the  Campaign  Committee,  and  I  mentioned 
Vance  McCormick  of  Pennsylvania.  This  probably  sug 
gested  a  solution  of  the  difficulty,  and  the  President 
shortly  afterward  named  McCormick  chairman  of  the 
Campaign  Committee.  As  McCormick  was  a  regular 
party  leader,  and  was  besides  very  popular,  there  could  be 
no  objection  to  this  choice.  It  proved  indeed  a  very  happy 
one.  All  who  know  McCormick  personally  are  unani 
mous  in  their  appreciation  of  his  high  character  and  of 
his  utterly  charming  personality.  He  is  a  most  unusual 
mixture  of  forcefulness  and  sweetness  of  spirit.  His 
selection  was  an  ideal  one.  The  concord  which  prevailed 
at  Democratic  headquarters  throughout  the  campaign  of 
1916  was  in  pleasing  contrast  to  the  fretful  bickerings  of 
1912,  and  this  difference  was  due  chiefly  to  McCormick's 
influence. 

I  devoted  myself,  as  I  had  in  1912,  chiefly  to  the  finan 
cial  side  of  the  campaign.  This  time  I  had  powerful 


242  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

assistance.  Thomas  L.  Chadbourne,  Jr.,  and  Bernard 
M.  Baruch  were  particularly  valuable  allies.  I  bad  only 
to  suggest,  to  one  or  the  other,  where  I  thought  they  might 
find  some  prosperous  and  as  yet  untaxed  Democrat,  to 
have  him  eagerly  exclaim,  "I'll  get  him,"  and  neither  of 
them  ever  failed  to  make  good  his  boast.  [Some  gave 
cheerfully  out  of  their  abundance,  as  did  Edward  L. 
Doheny,  whom  I  personally  solicited  and  who  contributed 
$50,000,  which  he  later  got  back,  and  a  quarter  of  a  mil 
lion  more,  by  taking  a  sporting  chance  on  a  close  election 
and  betting  heavily  on  Wilson's  success?  Others  gave 
equally  greatly  out  of  meagre  resources.  Of  these,  the 
most  touching  was  the  gift  from  the  late  Franklin  K. 
Lane,  who  had  saved  up  a  thousand  dollars  in  the  pre 
ceding  six  months  and  gave  it  out  of  the  fulness  of  his 
patriotism  and  his  personal  affection  for  the  President. 

^Perhaps  the  most  amusing  episode  of  our  campaign 
for  party  finances  was  our  experience  with  Henry  Ford. 
One  of  our  plans  called  for  an  extensive  campaign  of 
newspaper  advertising,  which  would  require  a  large  sum 
of  mone£^  Someone  suggested  that  Mr.  Ford,  in  view 
of  his  interest  in  world  peace  and  in  President  Wilson's 
peace  record,  might  be  willing  to  supply  the  funds.  After 
some  correspondence,  Ford  agreed  to  meet  Vance  Mc- 
Cormick  in  New  York,  and  in  August,  1916,  they  met  at 
luncheon  in  McCormick's  rooms  at  the  Biltmore  Hotel. 
The  luncheon  party  consisted  of  Ford,  McCormick, 
Thos.  A.  Edison,  and  Josephus  Daniels.  All  four  men 
are  well  known  for  their  temperance  proclivities,  and 
doubtless  they  lived  up,  on  this  occasion,  to  their  profes 
sions  and  their  usual  practices.  It  must  have  been  either 
the  intoxication  of  political  ideas,  or  the  effervescence  of 
youthful  spirits  which  prompted  them  after  luncheon  to 
dispense  temporarily  with  the  serious  business  in  hand, 
and  enter  into  a  lively  competition  in  high  kicking  in  the 


THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1916  243 

sitting  room  of  the  suite  in  friendly  but  vigorous  rivalry 
to  see  which  could  first  kick  the  chandelier.  None  of  them 
reached  this  goal,  but  Henry  Ford,  who  started  his  busi 
ness  life  by  repairing  bicycles,  set  a  new  world's  record 
by  topping  the  other  three  several  inches  in  this  pedal 
competition.  To  make  sure  that  my  memory  of  this 
event  was  correct,  I  wrote  to  Vance  McCormick  for  veri 
fication.  His  reply  is  worth  repeating: 

DEAR  UNCLE  HENRY: 

Your  recollection  of  the  Ford-Edison  luncheon  was  in  general 
correct.  The  luncheon  was  held  in  my  sitting-room  in  the  Biltmore 
and  the  invitation  was  arranged  through  Secretary  Daniels  who  was 
present  at  the  luncheon  with  Mr.  Ford  and  Mr.  Edison.  As  I  re 
member,  John  Burroughs  was  also  present.  I  will  have  to  confirm 
that,  however,  through  the  newspaper  accounts  of  the  luncheon.  .  ;  . 

During  the  luncheon,  as  I  remember  it,  the  principal  topic  of  dis 
cussion  was  the  question  of  the  best  diet  for  an  active  man  to  produce 
the  greatest  results  and  extend  one's  life  to  a  ripe  old  age.  Mr. 
Edison  started  the  discussion  by  stating  that  he  lived  principally  on 
hot  milk  and  bread.  This  lead  to  a  general  discussion,  but  the  prin 
cipal  debaters  were  Mr.  Edison  and  Mr.  Ford,  each  advocating  his 
own  diet.  Finally  the  debate  waxed  so  warm  that  a  demonstration  of 
athletic  ability  was  proposed  and  I  think  it  was  Mr.  Ford  who  stated 
that  he  could  kick  higher  than  Mr.  Edison,  whereupon  as  we  left  the 
table  a  high  kicking  contest  was  indulged  in  and  the  marks  made  upon 
the  wall,  and  my  recollection  is  that  Mr.  Ford  was  the  highest  kicker 
although,  I  believe,  the  contest  was  a  close  one. 

The  lunch  party  was  a  most  enjoyable  affair  and  carried  off  more 
in  the  spirit  of  schoolboys  than  that  of  statesmen  and  geniuses.  .  .  . 

With  kindest  regards,  I  am 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

(Signed)  VANCE  C.  McCoRMiCK. 

This  expansion  of  movement  on  Ford's  part,  however, 
suffered  a  severe  contraction  when  the  subject  of  finances 
was  resumed.  He  interposed  objections  to  every  argu 
ment  that  was  made  for  his  contribution  to  the  advertis- 


244  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

ing  campaign.  He  objected  to  giving  money  for  political 
purposes,  because  he  had  heard  so  much  about  improper 
expenditures,  and  he  was  afraid  that  some  of  his  money 
might  go  that  way.  He  stood  firm  in  that  position  even 
after  it  was  pointed  out  to  him  that  advertising  rates  were 
easily  determined,  and  the  expenditures  could  be  checked. 
^Exhausted  by  their  efforts  to  pin  Ford  down  to  a 
definite  proposal,  McCormick  and  Daniels  brought  him 
over  to  Democratic  headquarters,  introduced  him  to  me, 
and,  as  McCormick  expressed  it,  left  him  to  my  tender 
mercies.  I  re-argued  the  points  they  had  covered,  and 
found  out  Ford's  real  position.  He  would  contribute, 
but  he  wanted  terms  that  would  advertise  himself  and  his 
cars.  The  advertisements,  when  published,  must  be  in 
the  form  of  a  statement  of  Ford's  personal  views  on  the 
campaign,  and  must  bear  his  signature.  In  addition,  as 
compensation,  we  were  to  guarantee  him  the  privilege  of 
calling  upon  the  President,  so  that  he  might  lay  before 
him  the  plan  which  he  contemplated  of  adding  the  women 
in  his  employ  to  the  men  who  were  already  benefitting  by 
the  minimum  wage  of  $5  a  day.  He  wanted  the  Pres 
ident,  he  said,  to  get  the  credit  for  advising  him  to  make 
this  arrangement.  No  doubt,  he  was  even  more  anxious 
to  get  the  publicity  that  would  come  from  making  the 
announcement  after  the  visit. 

We  accepted  Ford's  proposition,  but  he  drove  a  hard 
bargain,  for,  after  all,  his  contribution  was  a  small  one, 
and  absurdly  disproportionate  to  his  means  and  to  his 
professions  of  interest  in  the  election. 

One  minor  incident  of  the  campaign  had  a  significant 
bearing  on  the  subsequent  career  of  Senator  Carter  Glass 
of  Virginia.  President  Wilson  asked  me  to  see  Mr. 
Glass  and  persuade  him  to  accept  the  position  of  secretary 
of  the  Democratic  National  Committee.  He  gave  no 
reason  for  this  request,  and  I  had  considerable  difficulty 


THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1916  245 

with  Mr.  Glass,  who  shied  away  from  the  suggestion.  I 
assured  him  that  we  did  not  expect  him  to  perform  any 
routine  duties.  We  wished  him  to  accept  the  post  only 
so  that  we  might  have  him  at  hand  to  consult  upon  ques 
tions  of  campaign  strategy  as  they  arose.  He  finally  con 
sented.  From  subsequent  developments,  it  was  evident 
that  Mr.  Wilson  even  then  had  Mr.  Glass  in  mind  for 
higher  honours,  and  wished  to  use  this  means  of  bringing 
him  more  prominently  before  the  general  public,  so  that 
he  would  be  more  readily  accepted  by  national  opinion 
when  the  day  came  for  an  appointment. 

We  realized  that  the  election  at  best  was  going  to  be  a 
very  close  one.  We  felt  reasonably  sure  that  the  dis 
affection  of  Tammany  in  New  York,  and  of  the  Roger 
Sullivan  organization  in  Illinois,  would  cost  us  those  two 
states.  We  had  to  make  up  their  expected  loss  in  other 
directions,  and  for  this  reason  we  concentrated  on  Ohio 
and  the  states  of  the  Pacific  Coast.  I  was  very  much 
astonished  when  Mr.  Elbert  H.  Baker,  the  proprietor  of 
the  Cleveland  Plain  Dealer,  came  into  headquarters  one 
day  and  assured  us  that  we  would  carry  Ohio  by  75,000 
votes.  I  had  no  such  hopes,  and  regarded  Mr.  Baker  as 
a  well-meaning  enthusiast.  Some  days  later,  however,  in 
conversation  with  Secretary  of  War  Newton  D.  Baker, 
he  assured  me  that  his  namesake  was  not  far  wrong  in  his 
estimate.  Both  were  subsequently  justified  by  events,  as 
Ohio  gave  President  Wilson  90,000  more  votes  than  Mr. 
Hughes. 

One  of  the  most  useful  individual  contributions  to  our 
ultimate  success  in  the  Pacific  Coast  states  was  the  vigor 
ous  campaign  waged  in  the  West  by  Mr.  Bainbridge 
Colby  on  his  own  initiative.  Mr.  Colby,  it  will  be  re 
called,  had  been  a  Republican,  but  in  1916  he  was  attracted 
by  the  progressive  character  of  Woodrow  Wilson.  He 
therefore  aligned  himself  as  a  member  of  the  Democratic 


246  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

Party,  and  became  one  of  President  Wilson's  most  ardent 
supporters.  His  services  were  of  the  greatest  value. 

Despite  our  anxieties,  we  came  to  Election  Day  with 
hopes  so  high  that  they  amounted  to  complete  confidence 
in  the  result.  So  sure  was  I  of  the  outcome,  that  I  invited 
as  many  of  my  political  friends  as  remained  in  New  York 
(most  of  the  National  Committeemen  had  gone  to  their 
homes  to  vote)  to  join  me  at  a  dinner  at  the  Biltmore  on 
Election  Night,  November  6th.  We  arranged  to  receive 
the  returns  at  the  table,  and  planned  that  the  occasion 
should  be  one  of  progressive  jubilation. 

When  the  dinner  began,  we  were  a  happy  party.  Mrs. 
McAdoo's  vivacity  was  the  keynote  of  an  evening  full  of 
jest  and  laughter,  and  of  confident  anticipation  of  victory 
and  four  years  more  of  Democratic  control  of  National 
policies.  Everything  went  merrily  until  about  nine 
o'clock,  when  unfavourable  returns  began  to  filter  in,  and 
gloom  began  to  settle  on  the  assembly.  Nervousness 
gave  way  to  consternation  when,  about  ten  o'clock,  we 
received  word  that  the  New  York  Times  and  the  New 
York  World  had  flashed  their  beacon  lights  to  announce 
that  the  Republicans  had  won.  Mr.  McAdoo  sank  deep 
in  his  chair,  the  picture  of  dejection.  Mrs.  McAdoo's 
vivacity  and  appetite  fled  together.  They  excused  them 
selves  comparatively  early,  and  departed.  Our  dinner 
soon  became,  what  it  was  afterward  aptly  called,  a 
"Belshazzar's  Feast."  The  party  broke  up,  and  those  of 
us  who  had  been  active  in  the  campaign,  headed  by  Vance 
McCormick,  hurried  back  to  headquarters  on  Forty- 
second  Street.  The  news  from  New  Hampshire,  Minne 
sota,  and  California  was  especially  encouraging.  We 
resolved  that,  whatever  else  happened,  this  should  not  be 
another  Tilden-Hayes  defeat.  We  sent  for  Attorney 
General  Gregory,  and  at  our  request,  he  telephoned  to 
United  States  District  Attorney  Anderson  in  Boston, 


THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1916  247 

ordering  him  to  send  deputies  at  once  into  New  Hamp 
shire,  to  see  that  no  violations  of  the  election  laws  were 
permitted,  and  especially  to  guard  against  the  reported 
intimidation  of  election  officials  preparing  their  returns. 

^The  newspaper  reporters  were  flitting  back  and  forth 
between  our  headquarters  and  the  Republicans,  and  we 
got  from  them  a  report  that  financial  men  were  gathering 
in  the  headquarters  of  the  enemy,  and  were  raising  an 
enormous  fund  to  affect  the  returns  from  the  West.  We 
used  the  reporters  to  carry  an  ultimatum  to  the  Repub 
licans.  We  reminded  them  that  we  had  control  of  the 
Federal  legal  machinery,  warned  them  that  we  had 
already  put  the  United  States  authorities  in  all  doubtful 
states  on  the  watch,  and  assured  them  that  if  the  proposed 
fund  were  raised,  it  could  only  be  for  illegal  purposes,  and 
that  if  this  effort  were  not  instantly  stopped,  the  whole 
crowd  would  find  themselves  in  jail  on  the  following 
morning.  If  they  seriously  contemplated  such  action,  this 
threat  was  effective  to  stop  it,  and  no  effort  was  made  by 
the  Republicans  to  use  funds  improper]^ 

We  then  concentrated  our  attention  upon  California. 
Within  an  hour  had  secured  a  through  telegraph  wire 
to  Democratic  headquarters  in  San  Francisco  and  ar 
ranged  that  every  precaution  be  taken  to  secure  a  fair 
count  throughout  the  state. 

We  kept  a  close  watch  also  on  Minnesota,  where,  if  we 
had  needed  it,  I  have  always  been  convinced  a  recount 
would  have  given  us  a  majority  that  would  have  made  the 
loss  of  California  a  matter  of  no  moment.  We  all  spent 
the  entire  night  at  headquarters,  my  son  going  out  at 
three  o'clock  in  the  morning  to  bring  us  in  hot  rolls  and 
coffee.  At  six  o'clock  in  the  morning,  our  collars  wilted, 
our  dress  shirts  soiled,  and  looking  generally  bedraggled, 
we  took  taxis  to  our  several  residences  to  refresh  our 
selves  with  bath  and  breakfast,  and  to  change  into  business 


248  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

garments.  By  eight  o'clock  everyone  was  back  at  head 
quarters,  and  we  worked  through  that  entire  day  and  until 
midnight  without  sleep.  Our  reward  was  the  final  assur 
ance  of  victory. 

Woodrow  Wilson  was  again  President  of  the  United 
States.  The  nation  could  count  upon  an  uninterrupted 
and  consistent  policy  through  the  critical  winter  of  1916- 
1917,  and  the  world  was  the  gainer  by  the  exalted  leader 
ship  and  sustained  nobility  of  policy  which  marked  our 
reluctant,  but  high-minded,  entrance  into  the  World  War, 
and  its  progress  to  a  victorious  conclusion. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

MY  MEETINGS  WITH  JOFFRE.,  HAIG,  CURBIE,  AND  PERSHING 

JUST  one  week  after  the  United  States  entered  the 
war,  President  Wilson  invited  twenty-four  men 
from  all  parts  of  the  country  to  meet  in  Washington 
on  April  21,  1917,  to  consider  means  of  financing  the 
American  Red  Cross.  As  I  was  one  of  the  group,  I 
came  to  Washington  a  day  earlier,  and  a  few  of  us  met 
at  dinner.  Of  the  guests  that  I  can  now  recall  there  were 
Charles  D.  Norton,  Cornelius  N.  Bliss,  Jr.,  Cleveland  H. 
Dodge,  Vance  McCormick,  and  Eliot  Wadsworth.  We 
all  agreed  that  the  funds  should  be  raised  by  a  nation 
wide  popular  subscription.  The  impression  of  all  those 
present,  with  the  exception  of  myself,  was  that  about 
five,  or  at  the  most  ten,  millions  could  be  raised  for  this 
purpose.  I  vigorously  contested  this  point  of  view,  and 
suggested  that  the  minimum  sum  that  we  should  start  out 
to  raise  was  fifty  million  dollars.  I  outlined  the  terrific 
needs,  not  only  in  this  country,  but  also  in  Europe,  for 
help  of  this  kind.  None  of  them  agreed  with  me  that  as 
large  a  sum  as  fifty  millions  could  be  secured,  and  they 
finally  said :  "If  you  feel  this  way  about  it,  you  propose  it 
at  the  full  committee  meeting  to-morrow." 

The  next  day,  when  the  committee  was  in  session,  I 
made  the  proposition  and  was  astonished  that  none  of 
those  present  at  first  grasped  the  idea  that  the  American 
people  could  be  induced  to  subscribe  fifty  million  dollars. 
I  then  spoke  a  second  time  and  told  the  committee  that 
the  American  Jews  alone  (of  whom  there  were  only  three 

249 


250  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

million)  were  then  engaged  in  raising  a  fund  of  ten 
million  dollars  for  their  co-religionists  abroad,  and  point 
ing  to  my  friend,  Julius  Rosenwald,  added:  "There  is  one 
man  in  this  room  who  individually  obligated  himself  to 
contribute  up  to  one  million  dollars  to  that  fund.  And 
I  have  no  doubt  there  are  several  other  men  in  this  room 
who  could  and  would  subscribe  one  million  dollars  to  the 
Red  Cross,  to  say  nothing  of  the  other  patriotic  Americans 
who  would  do  likewise." 

When  our  committee  finally  selected  Harry  P.  Da- 
vison,  of  the  firm  of  J.  P.  Morgan  &  Company,  to  be 
chairman,  some  of  them  hesitatingly  told  him  of  my  sug 
gestion  that  fifty  million  dollars  be  raised,  adding  that 
they  thought  my  proposal  was  absurd.  "You  are  right," 
he  said,  "Mr.  Morgenthau's  proposal  of  fifty  million  dol 
lars  is  absurd — absurdly  inadequate.  At  least  one  hun 
dred  million  dollars  will  be  required,  and  that  is  the 
amount  we  must  determine  to  raise." 

This  was  an  inspiring  example  of  those  qualities  of 
imagination,  vision,  and  daring,  which  had  made  Mr. 
Davison,  while  still  a  young  man,  one  of  the  foremost 
leaders  of  American  finance.  His  decisive  leadership  and 
fiery  energy  aroused  the  enthusiasm  of  his  associates,  and 
put  the  work  instantly  in  full  swing. 

I  suggested  that  the  best  way  to  get  our  campaign  im 
mediately  and  dramatically  before  the  public  was  to 
obtain  a  proclamation  from  the  President  commending 
our  plan  to  the  nation.  "We  have  a  psychological  op 
portunity,"  I  declared,  "to  reach  the  pockets  of  the  people 
through  an  appeal  to  their  eager  desire  to  serve.  At  the 
most,  only  a  small  percentage  of  the  population,  and  those 
the  young  men,  can  be  active  combatants.  But  every 
citizen  wants  to  feel  that  he  is  himself  enlisted  in  the 
common  cause.  Active  membership  in  the  Red  Cross  is 
such  an  enlistment,  because  the  Red  Cross  will  be  the 


JOFFRE,  HAIG,  AND  PERSHING      251 

second  line  of  our  army,  inspiriting  and  heartening  the 
boys." 

They  all  agreed,  but  they  feared  it  would  take  some 
time  to  get  such  a  proclamation  from  the  President,  be 
cause  he  was  so  very  busy,  and  it  would  be  hard  for  him  to 
find  time  to  write  it.  I  thought  the  proclamation  could 
be  secured  by  the  following  morning,  and  told  Mr.  Davi- 
son  that  Secretary  Franklin  K.  Lane  was  the  man  in 
Washington  who  could  most  nearly  phrase  an  idea  in 
the  language  of  the  President,  and  that  if  we  could  get 
him  to  write  the  proclamation  for  us,  I  had  no  doubt  that 
the  President  would  sign  it  without  substantial  change. 
We  went  to  Lane's  office,  and  it  was  a  pleasure  to  me  to 
introduce  these  two  able  men  of  such  diverse  achieve 
ments,  and  to  see  how  promptly  each  fell  under  the  spell 
of  the  other's  charm  of  manner.  Mr.  Lane  readily  agreed 
to  draft  the  proclamation,  and  promised  to  have  it  ready 
in  a  day  of  two.  "We  want  it  in  twenty  minutes!"  I 
exclaimed.  "I  will  give  you  the  ideas  we  want  expressed, 
and  you  can  write  it  as  well  in  that  time  as  in  as  many 
days."  "All  right,  go  ahead,"  he  replied,  and  after  a  short 
discussion,  he  reached  for  pen  and  paper,  and  within  a 
few  minutes  had  written  the  following  message  to  the 
American  people,  that  thrilled  the  country  and  made 
easy  the  path  of  the  Red  Cross  Campaign. 

Throughout  the  land  the  spirit  of  the  American  people  has  been 
aroused  and  an  intense  desire  to  render  some  service  that  will  give 
proof  of  their  patriotism  is  moving  every  heart.  As  not  more  than 
one  million  of  our  citizens  can  be  utilized  to  serve  in  the  Army  and 
Navy  of  the  United  States  and  be  given  the  privilege  of  risking  their 
lives  on  behalf  of  our  beloved  country,  it  is  the  duty  of  all  the  rest  to 
do  something  to  help  those  who  are  at  the  front.  Sickness  and  dis 
comforts  can  only  be  prevented  by  the  hearty  cooperation  of  those 
who  remain  at  home. 

To  give  every  one  a  chance  to  share  in  the  defense  of  our  country: 


252  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

I,  Woodrow  Wilson,  President  of  the  United  States,  and  President 
of  the  American  National  Red  Cross,  do  appoint  and  proclaim  that 
May  30th,  1917,  be  dedicated,  in  addition  to  our  devotion  on  that  day 
to  those  who  have  heretofore  sacrificed  their  lives  on  the  altars  of 
our  country,  as  a  Red  Cross  day  on  which  all  our  citizens  should  give, 
according  to  the  measure  of  their  ability,  their  money  and  their  time 
to  the  American  National  Red  Cross  for  the  general  purposes  of  the 
Society,  and  especially  for  the  comfort  of  our  armed  forces,  the  care 
of  those  dependent  upon  them,  and  the  relief  of  war  sufferers  in 
foreign  lands.  We  must  perform  this  duty  generously  and  not  stint- 
ingly.  No  less  than  fifty  million  dollars  should  satisfy  American 
pride. 

In  a  few  minutes,  his  stenographer  supplied  us  with 
typewritten  copies,  and  within  another  hour,  Mr. 
Tumulty,  the  President's  secretary,  with  whom  we  left  the 
draft,  had  promised  to  bring  it  to  Mr.  Wilson's  attention 
that  night.  The  following  morning  it  was  delivered  to 
us,  bearing  the  President's  signature.  The  confidence  in 
America's  generosity  was  more  than  justified,  as  the  Red 
Cross  drive  brought  in  110  million  dollars. 

In  the  following  month  (May,  1917)  I  had  a  curious 
experience  with  the  ineptitude  that  able  men  sometimes 
display  in  public  affairs.  In  that  month  a  number  of 
gentlemen  gathered  for  the  purpose  of  formulating  a 
plan  for  a  government-backed  campaign  to  inform  the 
American  people  more  fully  regarding  the  European 
situation,  our  aims  in  the  war,  and  our  proposed  methods 
of  waging  the  war.  This  meeting  was  one  of  the  first 
steps  taken  in  the  direction  which  ultimately  led  to  the 
formation  of  the  Bureau  of  Public  Information,  which 
performed  the  dual  function  of  distributing  government 
war  publicity  in  this  country  and  American  war  propa 
ganda  abroad.  This  was  a  non-partisan  gathering,  and 
the  following  gentlemen  were  present:  Charles  E. 
Hughes,  Thomas  L.  Chadbourne,  Jr.,  John  Purroy 
Mitchel,  Hon.  William  R.  Willcox,  Chairman  of  the  Re- 


JOFFRE,  HAIG,  AND  PERSHING       253 

publican  National  Committee,  William  Hamlin  Childs, 
George  W.  Perkins,  Frank  Munsey,  Willard  D.  Straight, 
William  A.  Prendergast,  Robert  Adamson,  and  myself. 
We  had  a  very  interesting  discussion,  and  at  the  close, 
Vance  McCormick  and  I  were  appointed  a  committee  to 
submit  the  results  to  the  President.  That  evening,  Frank 
Munsey  called  me  up  on  the  telephone  and  after  a  great 
panegyric  of  John  Wanamaker,  and  enlarging  upon  his 
vast  experience  as  an  advertiser  and  publicity  man,  and  as 
though  he  were  delivering  a  nominating  speech,  suggested 
Mr.  Wanamaker  as  War  Publicity  Director.  I  curtly 
answered  that  he  would  not  do.  He  then  veered  over 
into  a  similar  and  extended  eulogy  of  George  W.  Perkins 
who,  he  declared,  and  with  some  justice,  was  one  of  the 
great  experts  in  the  securing  of  publicity.  I  was  really 
taken  aback  that  a  man  of  Mr.  Munsey's  acuteness  should 
suggest  to  me  that  I  propose  one  of  these  two  men,  both 
of  whom  had  so  openly  and  unflinchingly  attacked  Presi 
dent  Wilson  during  the  recent  campaign.  I  reminded 
him  that  Mr.  Wanamaker  had  paid  for  lavish  advertise 
ments  to  bring  about  the  defeat  of  President  Wilson. 
Then  my  sense  of  humour  overcame  my  annoyance:  the 
very  absurdity  of  his  suggestions  was  irresistibly  funny, 
and  I  asked  Mr.  Munsey  why  he  did  not  suggest  George 
Harvey  as  his  third  choice  and  so  complete  the  trinity  of 
Wilson's  strongest  opponents  in  the  publicity  line. 

Another  episode,  as  felicitous  as  this  one  was  inept,  oc 
curred  in  this  same  month.  The  occasion  was  the  reception 
which  New  York  City  gave  to  Marshal  Joff  re,  Rene  Vivi- 
ani,  and  Arthur  J.  Balf  our,  who  were  visiting  this  country 
as  the  heads  of  the  French  and  British  mission  sent  to  ex 
press  the  appreciation  of  their  governments  upon  our 
entrance  into  the  war,  and  to  advise  with  us  upon  the  best 
means  of  making  our  military  alliance  effective.  New 
York  City  enthusiastically  welcomed  both  its  distinguished 


254  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

guests,  and  Mayor  Mitchel  and  his  Reception  Committee 
were  happy  at  the  opportunity  to  give  these  visitors  the 
freedom  of  the  city.  To  prevent  any  possibility  of 
wounded  susceptibilities,  by  seeming  preference  of  one 
guest  over  another,  separate  ceremonies  were  arranged  for 
each. 

At  all  these  ceremonies,  including  the  reception  of  the 
men  at  the  dock,  and  even  at  the  special  dinner  given  to 
a  select  seventy  at  Sherry's,  the  lead  was  always  given  to 
that  great  citizen  and  grand  old  man  of  American  private 
and  public  life,  the  late  Joseph  H.  Choate.  There  never 
Was  any  doubt  as  to  who  should  be  selected  to  match  the 
generations  of  culture  and  statecraft  so  ably  represented 
by  Balfour,  the  nephew  of  Salisbury,  the  vivid  French 
eloquence  so  charmingly  illustrated  by  Viviani,  and  the 
French  eminence  in  the  art  of  war  which  Marshal  Joff re, 
the  hero  of  the  Marne,  so  adequately  typified.  Joseph  H. 
Choate  was  preeminently  the  man  whom  we  could  proudly 
call  upon;  who  in  his  own  person  combined  all  the  requi 
sites  of  social  grace,  intellectual  power,  and  international 
distinction. 

The  climax  of  the  entertainments  offered  our  guests 
was  a  great  dinner  at  the  Waldorf-Astoria,  at  which  Mr. 
Choate  presided.  As  I  was  also  a  member  of  all  the 
committees,  and  was  in  addition  an  ex- Ambassador,  I 
was  constantly  at  his  side.  I  know  of  no  one,  either  in 
my  own  experience  or  in  history,  who  at  that  advanced 
age,  was  his  equal  in  youthful  energy,  in  ebullition  of 
spirits,  in  consummate  geniality,  and  spontaneity  of  wit; 
nor  any  one  who  so  wonderfully  combined  the  learned 
lawyer,  the  able  diplomat,  and  the  democratic  citizen.  He 
was  universally  recognized  as  the  "highest  type  of  living 
American,"  and  we  were  proud  to  match  him  against  the 
world. 

When  he  made  his  speech  with  Joffre,  Viviani,  and  Bal* 


JOFFRE,  HAIG,  AND  PERSHING      255 

four  at  his  side,  and  delivered  that  famous  message  to  the 
officials  at  Washington:  "For  God's  sake,  hurry  up,"  and 
was  greeted  with  the  thunderous  applause  that  followed, 
he  reached  the  pinnacle  of  his  career.  As  he  stood  there 
looking  at  that  audience,  radiating  forth  one  of  his  beam 
ing  smiles,  full  of  human  sympathy,  of  hope  and  faith  in 
America,  it  thrilled  the  audience  and  gave  to  the  British 
and  French  representatives  an  unmistakable  assurance 
that  America  was  with  them,  and  would  stay  with  them  to 
the  finish.  It  was  a  glorious  and  most  fitting  close  to 
Choate's  great  career  to  be  permitted  to  use  his  last 
thoughts  and  energies,  in  his  eighty-fourth  year,  for  the 
welfare  of  his  country.  A  few  days  later,  while  the  effect 
of  his  last  speech  was  still  penetrating  into  the  farthest 
corners  of  the  earth,  he  passed  away,  mourned  by  all. 

In  June,  1917,  the  President  asked  me  to  go  abroad 
upon  a  secret  diplomatic  errand,  which  I  am  not  even  yet 
at  liberty  to  disclose,  further  than  to  say  that  I  learned 
that  what  the  President  hoped  for  could  not  be  accom 
plished,  and  after  a  few  days  I  proceeded  to  Paris. 

This  was  one  of  the  great  hours  of  history.  General 
Pershing  had  arrived  with  his  little  staff  of  officers  and 
a  few  regiments  of  American  Regular  soldiers.  This  was 
America's  first  pledge  toward  the  promise  of  military 
aid,  which  was  speedily  to  be  redeemed  in  terms  of  two 
millions  of  American  troops  in  France,  and  final  victory 
in  the  war.  I  dined  with  Ambassador  Sharp ;  and  in  his 
home  I  met  General  Pershing,  Thomas  Nelson  Page,  our 
Ambassador  to  Italy,  and  other  prominent  Americans. 
I  renewed  old  acquaintances  in  the  American  colony  at 
Paris,  and  soon  learned  the  immense  significance  of  the 
appearance  of  our  soldiers  in  France.  It  was  now  the 
middle  of  July,  and  only  a  little  earlier  the  French  people 
had  almost  seemed  to  falter  in  their  struggle.  France 
seemed  to  have  been  bled  white  by  three  years  of  devas- 


256  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

tating  war.  Frenchmen  were  saying  that  it  was  as  well 
to  die  on  their  doorsteps  as  to  be  led  to  useless  slaughter 
at  the  front.  The  French  Government  was  making  a 
final  desperate  effort  to  restore  the  nation's  confidence. 
Joffre  in  May  had  pleaded  at  Washington  for  American 
troops — "No  matter  how  few  you  send,  only  give  us  the 
sight  of  Americans  in  uniform  on  the  streets  of  Paris." 

I  now  had  the  privilege  of  watching,  from  the  most 
favourable  point  of  vantage,  a  critical  test  of  the  national 
psychology  which  the  French  Government  made  in  July, 
1917.  With  a  profound  sense  of  dramatic  values,  they 
had  arranged  that  the  American  troops  should  be  ex 
hibited  to  the  French  public  on  their  Independence  Day, 
July  14th,  as  units  of  a  great  patriotic  parade.  To  make 
sure  that  they  might  accurately  gauge  the  psychological 
effect,  the  President's  reviewing  stand  was  placed  in  Vin- 
cennes,  where  the  people  had  suffered  greatly  from  the 
privations  of  the  war,  and  where  disaffection  was  rife.  I 
received  an  invitation  to  witness  the  parade  from  the 
President's  reviewing  stand,  and  Ambassador  Sharp, 
General  Pershing,  and  I  were  the  only  Americans  so  fa 
voured.  We  were  arranged  around  President  Poincare, 
with  Monsieur  Painleve,  Minister  of  War,  and  others. 
M.  Painleve  afterward  told  me  that  he  and  the  President 
of  the  Republic  had  headed  the  procession  while  it  was 
passing  through  the  poorer  quarters  of  the  city,  to  test  the 
attitude  of  the  people  before  they  had  tasted  the  enthus 
iasm  which  the  sight  of  troops  would  naturally  arouse,  and 
that  they  had  been  encouraged  by  receiving  everywhere 
a  cordial  and  even  a  hearty  reception.  Nevertheless,  I 
could  plainly  see  the  evidences  of  nervousness  amongst 
the  French  officials — a  nervousness  which  grew  more  in 
tense  as  the  military  parade  approached.  It  was  some 
what  relieved  as  the  French  soldiers  marched  by,  and  were 
greeted  by  the  hearty  cheers  of  the  people.  It  disap- 


JOFFRE,  HAIG,  AND  PERSHING      257 

peared  entirely  when  our  splendid  Americans  swung  past 
the  reviewing  stand.  The  enthusiasm  of  the  spectators 
then  passed  all  bounds.  To  the  French  officials  this  ap 
proval  of  the  populace  meant  relief  from  a  heart-breaking 
anxiety:  to  us  Americans  who  stood  with  them  it  was  an 
occasion  for  patriotic  pride.  To  see  the  flag  of  our  young 
nation  in  this  old  capital  of  Europe,  and  behind  it  those 
two  thousand  splendid  examples  of  our  young  manhood, 
so  erect  in  carriage,  and  so  lithe  in  motion — their  faces 
so  eager  and  intelligent — their  whole  bearing  so  proudly 
representative  of  the  millions  that  were  to  follow  them, 
and  to  see  how  much  their  presence  meant  to  rulers  and 
people  alike — all  this  made  a  picture  that  filled  us  with 
happiness.  The  effect  upon  the  French  nation  was  in 
stantaneous  and  electrical.  From  despair,  they  changed 
overnight  to  fresh  hope  and  confidence.  Though  they 
then  only  hoped  for  one  third  of  a  million  reinforcements 
within  a  year,  and  little  dreamed  of  the  marvel  which  was 
actually  performed  of  bringing  two  million  men  speedily 
to  France,  they  were  nevertheless  enthusiastic  over  the 
prospect.  Responsible  Frenchmen  urged  me  to  advise 
President  Wilson  to  assert  himself  at  once  as  the  leader  of 
the  whole  alliance  against  Germany;  and  responsible 
Britons  soon  afterward  added  that  they,  as  well  as  the 
French,  would  welcome  a  unified  control  of  the  Allies' 
political  policy  with  President  Wilson  in  command.  I 
think  it  profoundly  significant,  in  view  of  the  later  course 
of  events,  that  the  European  nations  thus  early  conceded 
the  necessity  that  Americans  should  lead. 

I  was  still  further  informed  of  the  real  thoughts  of  the 
French  officials  when  a  few  days  later  I  dined  with  Pain- 
leve,  who  spoke  with  deep  appreciation  of  the  help  which 
America  was  beginning  now  to  extend.  He  spoke  quite 
freely  of  the  recent  disaffection  that  had  come  among  the 
French  people  after  three  years  of  terrible  fighting  and 


258  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

heavy  losses,  and  with  gratification  of  the  change  that  had 
come  over  public  opinion  with  the  arrival  of  the  American 
troops.  He  covered  at  length  the  dangerous  situation  on 
the  Russian  front,  the  blunder  committed  at  the  beginning 
of  the  war  in  the  failure  of  the  Entente  fleet  properly  to 
pursue  the  Goeben  and  the  Breslau,  the  capture  of  which 
would  have  kept  Turkey  out  of  the  war  and  spared  them 
the  difficult  problem  of  the  Balkans.  He  discussed  also 
the  difficulties  of  the  French  in  governing  their  colonies 
and  dependencies;  and,  with  special  significance,  he  de 
clared  that  negotiations  for  peace  with  Germany  could 
not  be  commenced  before  the  complete  evacuation  of  all 
the  territory  then  occupied  by  the  enemy. 

Painleve  was  especially  solicitous  regarding  our  ability 
to  solve  the  problem  of  transportation  of  men  and  muni 
tions  to  France.  He  was  concerned  over  our  ability  to 
drill  into  a  real  army  more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  men  within  a  year.  He  asked  eagerly  about 
President  Wilson's  character,  especially  whether  I 
thought  he  had  the  determination  which,  now  that  we  had 
entered  the  war,  would  cause  him  to  see  it  through  with 
energy.  He  feared,  from  the  hesitancy  that  we  had  dis 
played  before  entering,  that  we  might  be  planning  a  luke 
warm  effort.  He  was  delighted  when  I  assured  him  of 
the  iron  resolution  of  President  Wilson,  and  of  the  habit 
of  the  American  people,  once  aroused,  to  see  a  fight 
through  to  the  finish. 

In  the  course  of  that  evening  (Saturday),  he  asked 
me  whether  I  had  posted  myself  on  the  military  conditions 
in  France.  I  told  him  I  had  projected  a  trip  to  the 
British  front,  and  was  only  waiting  for  the  arrangements 
to  be  completed.  He  asked  me  whether  I  would  not  like 
to  see  something  else  in  the  meantime,  and  I  replied  that 
I  should  like  very  much  to  see  the  French  front,  and 
especially  to  visit  the  parts  of  Alsace  which  the  French 


JOFFRE,  HAIG,  AND  PERSHING      259 

had  at  last  reunited  to  France.  He  was  somewhat  taken 
aback  when,  having  asked  me  when  I  should  like  to  go,  I 
replied  on  the  following  Monday.  Nevertheless*  he 
proved  himself  possessed  of  a  capacity  for  prompt  action 
and  execution.  At  ten  o'clock  on  Monday  morning,  there 
appeared  at  my  hotel  a  very  dapper  French  officer.  He 
saluted,  introduced  himself  as  Captain  Jaubert  of  General 
Headquarters,  and  added:  "At  your  command.  I  am  to 
accompany  you  on  your  mission — your  visit  to  the  front." 
A  few  moments  later,  a  heavy-set,  very  intelligent-looking 
man,  in  the  garb  of  a  chauffeur,  presented  himself,  like 
wise  came  to  attention,  saluted,  and  informed  us  that  the 
car  was  ready.  Shortly  thereafter,  we  were  on  our  way. 

Our  party  consisted  of  Captain  Jaubert,  my  old  friend 
Schmavonian  of  the  American  Embassy  at  Constan 
tinople,  Professor  Herbert  Adams  Gibbons,  and  myself. 
Our  first  objective  was  Gondrecourt,  the  camp  and  head 
quarters  of  the  then  tiny  American  Expeditionary  Force. 
Our  route  took  us  through  that  part  of  the  battlefield  of 
the  Marne  which  was  nearest  to  Paris,  and  as  we  sped 
along,  Jaubert  explained  to  us,  by  means  of  sketches 
traced  on  the  window  glass  with  his  forefinger,  the  tactics 
of  that  battle. 

Arrived  at  Gondrecourt,  we  saw  a  splendid  sight.  Here 
were  American  boys  in  American  uniform,  with  Ameri 
can  automobiles  and  other  equipment.  It  gave  us  a 
keen  sense  of  home.  Captain  Jaubert,  whom  I  had  by 
this  time  discovered  to  be  not  only  a  captain  but  a  marquis, 
and  a  nephew  of  the  Duke  of  Montebello,  soon  located 
the  headquarters  of  General  Sibert.  We  were  here  in 
vited  to  dine  with  General  Ponydreguin,  the  commander 
of  the  famous  "Blue  Devils,"  a  very  charming  gentleman. 
He  commanded  the  French  troops  in  this  neighbourhood, 
as  General  Sibert  commanded  the  Americans.  After 
dinner,  we  adjourned  to  the  camp  headquarters,  which  I 


260  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

found  these  two  gentlemen  shared.  As  neither  spoke 
the  other's  language,  it  was  amusing  to  see  them,  while 
using  an  interpreter  to  converse  with  each  other,  carry 
through  the  French  politenesses  of  direct  conversation, 
smiling  at  each  other,  and  bowing  and  courtesying,  Gen 
eral  Sibert  especially  finding  it  difficult  to  accommodate 
his  rather  formal  American  manner  to  the  livelier  conven 
tions  of  Continental  usage. 

After  a  tour  of  inspection,  on  the  following  morning, 
of  the  interesting  activities  of  the  camp,  we  proceeded  on 
our  way  to  Domremy,  the  birthplace  of  Joan  of  Arc, 
where  I  wished  to  visit  the  church,  which  is  a  shrine  to 
her  memory.  By  this  time  I  had  discovered  not  only  that 
my  escort  was  a  marquis,  but,  more  surprising,  that  our 
chauffeur  had  been  in  private  life  a  member  of  the  Paris 
Bourse.  The  car  in  which  we  were  riding  belonged  to 
him,  and  he  had  volunteered  to  do  his  bit  for  his  country 
by  putting  the  car  at  the  Government's  service,  and  offer 
ing  himself  as  its  chauffeur.  Captain  Jaubert,  in  accord 
ance  with  military  traditions  of  discipline,  had  treated  him, 
a  mere  sergeant,  as  impersonally  as  if  he  were  another 
piece  of  the  car's  mechanism.  When  we  drew  up  at  Joan 
of  Arc's  Chapel,  and  dismounted  to  enter,  I  saw  by  his 
expression  that  he  was  as  eager  as  I  to  see  the  interior  of 
this  famous  shrine.  The  yearning  look  on  his  face,  as  he 
stood  before  the  portals,  which  an  absurd  military  conven 
tion  forbade  him  to  enter  in  company  with  us,  who  were 
no  better  than  he,  was  too  much  for  me  to  withstand.  I 
asked  Captain  Jaubert  to  relax  the  rigours  of  discipline 
for  the  moment,  and  allow  him  to  accompany  us.  The 
Captain  acquiesced  with  characteristic  French  politeness, 
though  I  suspected  he  did  not  especially  relish  it;  but  the 
chauffeur's  appreciation  was  sufficient  recompense  for 
whatever  slight  damage  was  done  to  military  tradition. 
The  Captain  himself  had  a  fair  grievance  against  military 


JOFFRE,  HAIG,  AND  PERSHING      261 

fate :  he  was  a  graduate  of  St.  Cyr  and  had  resigned  from 
the  army  during  the  Dreyfus  episode,  with  the  result  that 
he  had  had  to  reenter  the  army  as  a  captain,  while  most 
of  his  classmates  at  the  Military  School  were  at  least 
colonels  and  many  of  them  generals. 

That  night  we  reached  Thann.  We  arrived  about 
nightfall,  and  were  met  at  the  town  boundary  by  the 
Mayor.  He  invited  us  to  spend  the  night  with  him  at 
his  suburban  home,  as  it  was  not  safe  for  us  to  sleep  in  the 
town.  I  was  ushered  into  the  best  room  in  his  house,  and 
found  that  the  mirror  in  the  bathroom,  as  well  as  the  tub, 
was  almost  demolished.  The  Mayor  explained  that  this 
damage  had  been  done  during  the  week,  and  that  he  had 
not  had  time  to  repair  it.  The  next  day  was  a  great 
Catholic  holiday,  Assumption  Day,  and  we  were  invited 
to  attend  the  services  at  the  church  of  St.  Theobald.  This 
spectacle  was  intensely  interesting,  because  the  parents 
of  these  people,  though  French  by  origin  and  sympathy, 
had  been  compelled  by  the  Germans  to  rear  their  children 
in  the  German  tongue,  and  consequently,  though  the  first 
sermon  of  the  celebration  was  delivered  in  French  by  a 
chaplain  of  the  French  army,  a  second  sermon  was  then 
delivered  in  German  by  an  old  abbe.  The  French  gen 
eral  explained  to  me  that  he  saw  no  reason  why  he  should 
deprive  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  their  religious 
comfort  simply  because  they  could  not  understand 
French. 

At  one  o'clock  we  were  entertained  at  the  hotel  by  the 
two  oldest  inhabitants  and  most  respected  citizens  of  the 
town,  Messieurs  Weber  and  Groshents.  At  this  luncheon 
they  paid  me  one  of  the  most  touching  compliments  I  have 
ever  received  in  my  life.  They  were  men  of  about  sev 
enty.  Both  had  been  of  age  during  the  Franco-Prussian 
War,  and  both  had  continued  throughout  the  forty- 
three  years  of  the  German  occupation,  since  that  war,  to 


262  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

be  unconquerably  French  in  their  patriotism.  During  the 
luncheon,  while  the  conversation  was  lagging,  owing  to 
my  insufficient  knowledge  of  French,  the  two  old  men 
whispered  to  each  other  for  a  few  minutes,  and  then  one 
of  them,  Mr.  Weber,  turned  to  me,  and  said  in  German: 
"We  have  just  released  each  other  from  the  vows  we  made 
in  1871,  that  we  would  never  again  speak  German  in 
public.  But  we  want  to  enjoy  your  company  and  we 
want  so  much  to  hear  you  talk  to  us,  that  we  think  we  are 
justified  in  suspending  our  agreement." 

We  then  had  a  most  delightful  conversation.  Mr. 
Weber  told  me  how,  in  1871,  he  had  taken  the  French  flag 
which  had  flown  over  the  City  Hall  until  the  German  oc 
cupation,  and  secreted  it  in  the  back  of  a  sofa  in  his 
parlour,  and  how  he  had  taken  the  flag  staff  and  hidden 
it  in  his  garret.  Then,  when  the  French  entered  the  town 
in  1914,  he  ripped  open  the  sofa,  took  out  the  flag,  fas 
tened  it  back  on  its  staff,  and  at  seventy  years  of  age  had 
proudly  presented  it  to  President  Poincare  in  celebration 
of  the  return  of  Alsace  to  France. 

Leaving  these  delightful  old  gentlemen  and  their  quaint 
city  of  Thann,  we  motored  southward.  At  dinner  next 
evening  we  were  entertained  by  the  Mayor  of  Mazevant, 
Count  de  Witt  Guizot.  After  a  very  pleasant  evening 
with  him,  and  as  we  were  about  to  take  our  leave,  I  in 
quired  if  he  were  related  to  Francis  P.  G.  Guizot,  the 
famous  historian.  He  smiled,  and  replied:  "Slightly;  he 
was  my  grandfather." 

Another  day  of  interesting  travel  took  us  through  the 
Alsatian  provinces  to  Belfort,  and  there  we  abandoned 
the  automobile,  and  returned  by  train  to  Paris. 

A  few  days  later  I  had  the  pleasure  of  renewing  my 
acquaintance  with  Marshal  Joff re,  which  I  had  first  made 
at  the  civic  receptions  in  New  York.  I  called  upon  him 
at  his  headquarters  at  the  Military  School  in  Paris.  Mar- 


JOFFRE,  HAIG,  AND  PERSHING      263 

shal  Foch  had  succeeded  him  as  Commander-in-Chief  of 
the  French  armies,  and  Joff re  was  now  engaged  chiefly  in 
training  staff  officers,  and  in  advising  the  High  Command 
when  his  judgment  was  needed  in  council.  The  Marshal 
gave  me,  with  great  frankness,  his  ideas  upon  what  Amer 
ica  should  do  to  make  effective  our  military  participation 
in  the  war. 

Immediately  after  our  interview  I  had  a  memorandum 
prepared  by  the  gentleman  who  acted  as  my  interpreter, 
from  which  I  have  made  the  following  extracts: 

In  the  present  warfare  there  is  a  most  vital  need  for  artillery 
officers  and  for  general  staff  officers.  The  American  Department  of 
War  must  realize  this.  It  is  not  enough  to  have  the  men,  the  other 
officers,  and  even  the  equipment.  The  framework  of  the  army  is  far 
from  being  complete  or  efficacious  before  you  have  a  sufficient  number 
of  trained  artillery  and  general  staff  officers.  In  order  to  train  these 
officers  for  active  field  service,  they  should  be  sent  to  France.  They 
can  at  once  be  sent  to  the  front  where  for  a  week  or  two  they  can  see 
the  work  done  there.  The  general  staff  officers  can  then  attend  courses 
in  the  general  staff  school,  and  the  artillery  officers  can  be  attached 
to  French  artillery  regiments  until  they  are  thoroughly  familiarized 
with  the  work. 

Besides  the  artillery  and  general  staff  officers,  the  Marshal  advises 
to  send  in  turns  a  certain  number  out  of  the  two  hundred  newly 
promoted  American  generals  to  join  the  French  divisions,  army  corps, 
or  armies  where  they  can  obtain  very  valuable  practical  information 
most  useful  to  them  when  they  take  over  commands  in  the  field. 

The  Marshal  said  that  he  had  something  very  delicate  to  add.  He 
had  come  to  know  that  in  America  there  was  a  certain  class  of  officers 
whom  he  would  call  "the  old  officers" — those  who  would  like  to  see  all 
promotions  and  appointments  made  solely  on  the  basis  of  seniority. 
Between  these  old  officers,  and  the  younger  officers,  the  Marshal 
understood,  there  was  or  there  might  be  friction.  The  Marshal  said 
that  in  an  emergency  like  the  present  the  things  to  be  taken  into 
consideration  are  efficiency  and  ability.  When  he  took  over  the  com 
mand,  the  same  question  came  up  in  France.  The  Marshal  did  not 
hesitate  to  drop  from  the  ranks  a  large  number  of  officers  and  to 
appoint  in  their  stead  younger  and  more  capable  men,  without  taking 


264  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

into  consideration  the  seniority  of  the  former.  Without  clearly 
stating  it,  the  Marshal  very  delicately  left  the  impression  that  in 
his  opinion  politics  should  play  no  part  in  military  appointments. 

The  Marshal  said  that  twice  he  had  Mr.  Roosevelt  next  to  him 
at  dinner  in  America.  Mr.  Roosevelt  seemed  anxious  to  come  to 
France  with  some  volunteers  and  fight  against  the  Germans,  and  he 
(Mr.  Roosevelt)  would  be  satisfied  by  being  only  second  in  command 
under  a  general.  Marshal  Joffre  was  not  of  the  opinion  that  the 
realization  of  Mr.  Roosevelt's  plan  could  be  of  great  service  and  there 
fore  desired  to  dissuade  him  from  attempting  to  carry  out  his  plan.  So 
the  Marshal  told  Mr.  Roosevelt,  "My  Colonel,  whatever  you  may  be, 
you  cannot  be  second!" 

In  recapitulating,  the  Marshal  said,  "Do  not  wait  until  you  are 
entirely  ready  in  America.  You  should  not  attempt  to  act  before 
you  are  ready,  but  there  are  things  which  you  can  do  at  once  by 
degrees,  little  by  little,  while  you  are  preparing  yourselves.  Send 
officers  to  be  instructed  for  the  artillery  and  General  Staff  services, 
send  some  generals,  and  put  them  at  once  in  contact  with  our  generals 
at  the  front.  Let  a  regiment  or  a  battalion  go  to  the  trenches.  From 
time  to  time  send  some  men  over."  The  Marshal's  idea  seemed  to  be 
that  while  the  main  preparation  and  equipment  should  be  carried  out 
in  America,  some  men  and  officers  should  be  sent  over  for  instruction 
in  France,  and  the  arrival  from  time  to  time  of  men  and  officers  would 
create  a  favourable  impression  on  the  minds  of  the  French  who  would 
see  that  America  was  doing  something. 

The  Marshal  spoke  very  highly  of  General  Pershing. 

Two  days  before  my  conversation  with  Marshal  Joffre, 
I  had  arranged  a  dinner  in  honour  of  General  Pershing. 
On  the  morning  of  that  day,  however,  I  received  a  letter 
from  his  secretary  postponing  the  engagement.  It  read 
as  follows: 

AMERICAN  EXPEDITIONARY  FORCE 

Office  of  the  Commanding  General 

Saturday,  August  18,  1917. 

MY  DEAR  MR.  MORQENTHAU: 

General  Pershing  has  requested  me  to  inform  you  that  much  to  his 
regret  he  will  be  unable  to  dine  with  you  and  Mrs.  Morgenthau  this 
evening.  The  General  has  had  an  engagement  of  long  standing  to 


JOFFRE,  HAIG,  AND  PERSHING      265 

take  a  particular  trip  with  General  Petain  when  the  latter  was  able 
to  arrange  it.  This  morning  General  Petain  has  just  sent  General 
Pershing  word  that  he  has  made  all  arrangements  for  them  to  leave 
this  afternoon.  So  under  the  circumstances  the  General  hopes  you 
will  understand  why  he  is  unable  to  be  with  you  this  evening. 

Very  sincerely, 

W.  C.  EUSTIS, 

Secretary. 

When  we  met  at  dinner,  four  days  later,  the  true  mean 
ing  of  this  letter  was  revealed.  General  Pershing  explained 
that  "his  engagement  of  long  standing  to  take  a  particular 
trip,"  when  translated,  meant  that  General  Petain  had 
promised  him  to  let  him  witness  the  battle  at  Verdun  the 
first  time  active  operations  were  resumed  there.  On  the 
morning  of  our  first  appointment,  General  Petain  had  sent 
General  Pershing  word  to  come  to  Verdun  at  once,  and 
Pershing  had,  of  course,  cancelled  all  conflicting  engage 
ments,  and  left  for  the  front.  He  described  to  us  what 
he  had  seen  at  Verdun,  and  spoke  with  the  eloquence  and 
enthusiasm  of  a  boy  who  has  just  seen  his  first  Big 
•League  game  of  baseball.  Pershing  gave  us  a  vivid  pic 
ture  of  a  modern  battle.  He  had  accompanied  General 
Petain  to  an  observation  dugout,  where  they  could  see  the 
battle  through  the  telescopes,  as  well  as  keep  in  touch  with 
its  multitudinous  operations  by  telephone.  The  General 
in  command  of  the  division  at  this  point  was  receiving 
messages  from  all  parts  of  the  battlefield,  and  transmit 
ting  them  to  Petain.  Word  would  come  that  X  had 
taken  another  hill,  and  Petain  would  tell  him  to  hold  it  or 
to  move  on,  making  his  decisions  for  the  various  parts  of 
the  battlefield  in  accordance  with  his  general  plan  of 
military  action. 

General  Pershing  was  especially  interested  in  a  double 
coincidence  of  this  visit.  The  Division  Commander  in  the 
dugout  was  General  Gouraud.  Oddly  enough,  General 


266  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

Gouraud  had  been  the  French  military  attache  in  Tokio 
when  Pershing  was  American  attache  at  the  same  point. 
In  the  dugout  they  fell  to  comparing  notes  on  their  expe 
riences  together  in  Japan  in  1905.  General  Pershing 
recalled  that  one  of  their  acquaintances  there  had  been  the 
German  attache,  whom  they  had  both  detested.  "By  the 
way,"  he  inquired  of  Gouraud,  "what  has  become  of  that 
little  German,  Von  Etzel,  that  we  used  to  know  in  Tokio?" 
"Come  here,"  Gouraud  replied,  "and  look  through  this 
telescope.  That  is  Von  Etzel's  army  retreating." 

Three  days  later,  my  eagerly  anticipated  trip  to  the 
British  front  was  undertaken.  Schmavonian  again 
accompanied  me.  Lord  Esher,  who  had  arranged  this 
trip  for  me  on  behalf  of  the  British,  introduced  to  me 
Captain  Townroe  of  the  British  General  Headquarters 
Staff,  a  fine,  determined  gentleman,  who  had  been  the 
private  secretary  of  Lord  Derby  during  the  recruiting 
period  in  England  and  was  the  author  of  a  popular  play 
called  "Nations  at  War."  General  Pershing  had  kindly 
designated  Captain  Quekemeyer,  then  as  now  his  per 
sonal  aide,  to  accompany  us  as  an  American  representa 
tive.  They  first  escorted  us  to  an  old  chateau  occupying 
the  land  where  the  battle  of  Agincourt  was  fought.  First 
we  visited  two  American  regiments  of  engineers.  It  was 
a  great  revelation  to  see  how  two  or  three  West  Point 
officers  had  been  able  to  whip  into  perfect  shape  1,200 
civilians  and  out  of  them  to  create  splendid  regiments. 
General  Biddle  escorted  me  to  their  headquarters,  and  we 
reviewed  the  regiments.  We  then  went  to  Roisel  where 
we  visited  the  12th  U.  S.  Engineers.  They  were  just 
making  camp.  Their  colonel  apologized  for  the  chaotic 
condition  of  affairs.  I  kept  looking  at  him,  thinking  that 
I  had  met  him  before.  At  length  I  made  a  few  inquiries 
of  him  as  to  his  antecedents,  and  where  I  could  have  met 
him,  when  suddenly,  having  penetrated  through  the  years 


JOFFRE,  HAIG,  AND  PERSHING      267 

which  had  left  its  marks  upon  him,  it  dawned  upon  me 
that  this  man,  Colonel  C.  M.  Townsend,  was  the  same 
Townsend  that  had  attended  the  College  of  the  City  of 
New  York  with  me  in  1870,  and  we  had  not  seen  each 
other  once  in  the  ensuing  forty-seven  years  1  This  was 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  feats  that  my  memory  ever 
surprised  me  with. 

When  we  returned  to  the  chateau  that  evening,  our 
genial  host,  Colonel  Roberts,  introduced  us  to  a  number 
of  British  writers  who  had  arrived  that  day.  Lovat 
Fraser,  then  leading  editor  of  the  London  Times;  C.  J. 
Beattie,  the  night  editor  of  the  "Daily  Mail;  L.  Cope 
Crawford,  of  the  London  Morning  Post;  H.  B.  Tourtel, 
of  the  Daily  Express;  Sydney  Low,  and  a  few  others. 
After  supper,  we  sat  in  the  parlour  in  the  old  chateau, 
with  its  engravings  by  Wilkie  on  the  walls,  and  the  old 
furniture,  etc.,  and  were  reminded  that  it  was  right  on 
the  battlefield  of  Agincourt.  I  listened  to  Sydney  Low's 
story  of  his  writing  "The  Conquest  of  Attila,"  who  was 
assisted  in  his  war  by  the  Ostrogoths  (Austrians)  and 
opposed  by  the  Franks,  Visigoths,  etc.,  and  how  Attila 
had  said  that  God  would  help  him  to  destroy  the  Chris 
tians,  and  he  would  be  a  scourge  to  them  and  sack  their 
cities,  or,  as  Low  put  it,  "just  like  Emperor  William,  who 
told  his  army  to  act  like  the  Huns,  and  they  are  doing  it." 

Another  evening,  we  had  discussions  with  some  of  the 
British  labour  leaders,  who  had  come  over  to  visit  the 
front  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  J.  E.  Baker  of  the 
Ministry  of  Munitions.  They  were  amazed  when  I  told 
them  that  it  was  ridiculous  to  think  that  democracy  could 
be  established  in  a  few  years.  They  were  really  surprised 
to  think  that  twenty-five  years  was  inadequate  to  reform 
the  world. 

Another  evening,  Colonel  Roberts  asked  me  whether 
he  could  invite  Major  Tibbetts  who  was  then  in  command 


268  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

of  Tank  Town,  which  they  called  the  headquarters  of  the 
Tank  Corps  in  that  neighbourhood,  as  the  Major  was  very 
anxious  to  meet  me.  I  told  him  I  had  never  heard  of  the 
Major,  but  that  I  should  be  very  glad  to  meet  him.  It 
turned  out  that  Major  Tibbetts  was  in  command  of  one 
of  the  landing  parties  at  the  Dardanelles  and  that  he  was 
most  desirous  to  ascertain  what  took  place  on  the  Turkish 
side  of  the  lines  at  that  time.  So  here  we  sat  in  France 
and  completely  dovetailed  our  two  stories  into  each  other. 
He  told  me  of  his  experiences — how  he,  with  his  party, 
had  reached  the  cliffs,  and  had  to  dig  themselves  in,  and 
the  Turks  were  pushing  them  hard,  while  the  British  ships 
were  attacking  the  Turks  on  the  beach,  and  they  were 
suspended  between  the  two  fires,  totally  ignorant  of  the 
actual  state  of  affairs,  while  we  in  Constantinople  were 
[wondering  why  those  two  detachments  had  not  cooperated. 
He  explained  it,  but  as  his  explanation  was  rather  con 
fidential,  I  do  not  care  to  repeat  it. 

One  day,  General  Charters,  who  was  in  charge  of  the 
Intelligence  Department,  came  to  see  me,  and  asked  me 
whether  I  was  perfectly  satisfied  with  my  programme.  I 
looked  at  him  quizzically  and  said:  "Satisfied?  Yes. 
Perfectly?  No."  He  said:  "What  else  do  you  want?" 
I  told  him  that  I  had  heard  so  much  recently  of  the  activ 
ities  of  Sir  Arthur  Currie,  that  I  was  anxious  to  meet 
him.  He  told  me  that  it  was  impossible,  as  General 
Currie  was  then  conducting  the  attack  on  Lens.  I  said 
to  him:  "Look  here,  General,  when  I  took  charge  of 
British  affairs  in  Constantinople,  and  found  that  the 
secretaries  and  clerks  were  much  inclined  promptly  to 
say  'No'  to  all  requests  from  British  citizens,  I  promul 
gated  Order  No.  1,  which  was,  that  no  one  but  myself 
could  say  'No'  to  any  request  from  any  citizen  of  any 
country  whose  affairs  we  had  taken  charge  of,  and, 
furthermore,  that  I  would  not  say  'No'  unless  I  had  first 


JOFFRE,  HAIG,  AND  PERSHING      269 

received  a  'No'  from  the  Grand  Vizier,  or  from  the  State 
Department  in  Washington." 

General  Charters  said:  "I  am  on,  sir,"  and  left  the 
room.  He  came  back  in  twenty  minutes,  and  said:  "Sir 
Arthur  Currie  most  cordially  invites  you  to  lunch  with 
him  to-morrow  at  one  o'clock."  I  said:  "Accepted  with 
great  pleasure ;  but  tell  me,  how  did  you  do  it?"  He  said : 
"I  called  up  Sir  Douglas  Haig,  and  told  him  your  story. 
He  called  up  Sir  Arthur  Currie,  and  the  invitation  was, 
as  you  see,  promptly  extended." 

Rather  than  repeat  from  memory  the  very  interesting 
interview  I  had  with  Sir  Arthur,  I  shall  quote  verbatim 
from  the  diary  which  I  kept  at  the  time,  giving  my  impres 
sions  as  they  were  written  fresh  at  the  moment: 

August  25,  1917.  Received  by  Currie,  a  fine,  tall,  well-set,  calm, 
determined  man.  He  was  anxious  to  make  sure  of  our  names.  Even 
there  he  showed  his  thoroughness.  We  repeated  our  names  and 
handed  him  our  cards.  We  were  presented  to  his  staff,  Generals 
Radcliffe  and  Sinclair,  Prince  Arthur  of  Connaught,  etc.,  and  went 
straight  to  lunch,  "hot  curry,"  liver  and  bacon,  rice  pudding,  salad  and 
fruit,  being  served.  We  discussed  Turkish  conditions,  the  price  of 
land  there,  etc.,  Currie  saying  that  their  expected  land  grants  would 
hardly  be  appreciated.  We  also  discussed  general  affairs  of  war, 
Radcliffe  and  Connaught  joining  in  the  conversations,  as  they  were 
anxious  for  facts  about  the  Dardanelles  and  Bagdad. 

After  luncheon,  the  General  took  us  into  his  office  from  two  to 
three  o'clock.  We  talked  of  warfare,  the  battle  of  Lens  while  it 
was  in  progress.  He  said  that  he  still  had  in  his  corps  men  who 
were  very  proud  of  their  victorious  record  and  tried  to  live  up  to  it. 
He  spoke  fairly  freely,  and  explained  his  method  of  leap-frog  attack, 
laying  great  stress  upon  a  full  knowledge  of  the  enemy's  position  and 
strength,  etc.,  when  about  to  make  an  attack.  His  command  had 
never  failed  to  get  their  objective  and  retain  it.  Example  of  spirit 
of  men:  Two  units  who  after  capturing  a  height  and  then  a  quarry 
were  driven  out  of  latter  and  he  was  wondering  what  to  do  and 
studying  the  situation,  when  he  heard  that  the  men  without  waiting 
for  orders,  of  their  own  initiative,  attacked  the  quarry  again,  regained 


270  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

it,  and  are  now  in  possession  of  it.  Currie  bemoaned  an  accident  to 
his  ankle  which  he  had  sprained  playing  Badminton.  He  disliked 
going  amongst  men  who  were  real  casualties,  while  his  injury  was 
caused  by  a  game.  He  favours  reserving  and  using  different  and 
fresh  troops  for  repelling  counter-attacks  and  attributes  much  of  his 
success  to  this  policy.  He  has  strong  common  sense.  His  men  co 
operate.  Artillery  answered  S.  O.  S.  call  in  thirty  seconds,  and  thus 
helped  to  relieve  infantry  promptly.  He  favours  light  railways 
which  he  has  greatly  extended  in  this  section.  Carries  two  thousand 
tons  a  day  on  them  instead  of  expected  one  hundred  and  fifty  tons. 
Spirit  of  victory  induces  Smith,  R.  R.  engineer,  if  requested  by 
Jones  Chief  Gunner  for  more  shells  to  make  special  trip  sans  hesita 
tion.  Canadians  originated  raiding  trenches  without  capturing  them. 

When  complimented  on  calmness  amidst  storm,  etc.,  as  several 
generals  and  flyers  were  waiting  outside  to  report  and  for  conference 
for  further  action  in  battle  in  progress,  he  evidently  was  totally  ab 
sorbed  and  enjoying  our  talk.  He  said:  "The  Great  God  has  given 
me  this  calm  nature,  which  prevents  my  becoming  excited,  and  I  use 
it  to  study  everything  which  I  think  will  help  to  lick  the  Boche." 

He  showed  great  confidence  in  the  final  issue  of  the  war,  and  was 
delighted  with  the  U.  S.  entry  into  it,  and  said:  "I  do  not  believe  that 
God  or  Fate  has  brought  English-speaking  people  together  intending 
them  to  lose."  He  objected  to  Canadians  being  treated  patronizingly 
by  the  British,  and  he  said:  "England  doesn't  want  it,  why  should 
we?  We  are  not  fighting  for  England,  but  for  the  British  Empire 
of  which  we  are  a  part,  and  which  we  want  perpetuated,  and  we  are 
fighting  for  our  skins."  He  insisted  upon  the  imperative  need  of  a 
G.  O.  C.  [General  Officer  Commanding]  having  undisputed  and  un 
trammelled  power  to  send  home  incompetent  officers  and  disregarding 
political  influences.  Men  should  only  be  sent  against  enemies  with 
good  leaders.  It  is  strange  all  the  generals  speak  of  the  Germans  as 
"he"  and  "him." 

Canada  is  provided  with  clothing  and  food  by  England.  It  pays 
them  for  everything.  He  recognized  that  the  United  States  could  not 
have  entered  earlier,  as  their  people  were  not  favourable.  Hoped 
the  U.  S.  would  profit  by  their  experience  and  avoid  their  mistakes. 
"The  lessons  of  the  war  should  teach  the  U.  S.  how  to  use  their  great 
power  to  advantage  and  secure  permanent  victory  and  peace."  He 
said  he  knew  a  great  deal  about  the  U.  S.,  as  he  lived  in  Vancouver, 
and  was  a  National  Guardsman,  colonel  of  a  regiment,  then  had  a 
brigade,  a  division,  and  now  a  corps. 


JOFFRE,  HAIG,  AND  PERSHING      271 

After  our  talk,  we  entered  his  Rolls  Royce,  and  went  to  Vimy 
Ridge  accompanied  by  G.  S.  O.  No.  3  of  the  Corps,  a  fine  intelligent 
fellow.  We  walked  eight  hundred  yards  over  a  long  row  of  slats 
laid  down  for  King  George  who  made  the  same  trip,  and  after  passing 
through  a  trench,  reached  an  observation  tower.  It  had  an  opening 
about  8  ft.  wide  and  was  20  inches  in  height,  and  was  used  by  a 
sergeant  and  two  assistants.  Had  powerful  glasses  and  maps  show 
ing  the  country.  We  could  see  the  Battle  of  Lens  in  its  progress. 
The  ground  around  it  was  pock-marked  with  shells.  The  panorama 
of  the  fight  was  thrilling  to  behold.  It  gave  an  impression  of  the 
enormity  of  the  task  to  make  any  progress  at  all.  We  wore  steel 
helmets  and  carried  our  gas  masks  with  which  we  had  practised  in 
the  auto,  as  we  were  well  in  the  danger  zone.  Some  shells  dropped 
within  400  yards  of  us.  The  N.  C.  O.  [non-commissioned  officer]  in 
charge  pointed  out  some  Boches  running  on  the  streets  of  Lens  and 
also  corpses  lying  in  little  gray  heaps.  Sixty-pounders  and  other 
shells  were  being  hurled  through  the  air  above  us  right  into  Lens  and 
Mericourt  and  in  return  the  Germans  were  firing  on  Vimy.  Two 
airplanes  were  flying  right  over  the  battlefield,  with  German  shells 
exploding  several  hundred  feet  below  them/ 

When  I  had  started  on  this  trip  with  Sir  Douglas  Haig 
as  my  chief  objective,  my  wife  had  begged  me  to  ascertain 
from  Sir  Douglas  why  he  had  not  captured  Lens.  The 
reader  will  recall  that,  at  that  time,  there  were  constant 
reports  about  the  Battle  of  Lens,  and  it  was  very  puzzling 
to  us  that,  although  the  British  seemed  in  complete  control 
of  the  batteries  around  Lens,  they  hesitated  about  taking 
the  town.  Therefore,  one  of  the  first  questions  I  put  to 
Sir  Douglas  when  I  met  him  three  days  after  my  meeting 
with  Currie,  was  the  one  entrusted  to  me  by  my  wife,  and 
in  reply  he  explained  to  me  that  it  was  more  efficacious 
to  use  Lens  as  a  means  of  diminishing  the  Germans'  un 
used  reserve  than  to  take  possession  of  it. 

The  full  record  of  my  meeting  with  Sir  Douglas  Haig, 
quoted  from  my  diary,  is  as  follows : 

Tuesday,  August  28,  1917:  It  rained  hard.  We  left  the  Chateau  at 
11  A.  M.  We  had  an  accident  with  auto  forty  minutes  from 


272  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

headquarters,  were  hastily  transferred  to  another  car,  an  open  Sun 
beam,  with  torn  top  which  I  had  to  hold  down,  raining,  rushing  madly, 
stopped  by  R.  R.  crossing,  and  once  by  a  long  line  of  troops,  but  we 
reached  there  at  1  P.  M. 

Sir  Philip  Sassoon,  M.  P.,  private  secretary  of  Sir  Douglas  Haig, 
received  us  and  ushered  me  into  private  room  of  D.  H.  We  talked  for 
ten  minutes  before,  and  forty  minutes  after,  lunch,  alone;  most  in 
teresting  and  instructive.  He  showed  me  and  explained  maps  of 
Ypres,  Lens,  etc.,  and  lists  of  German  divisions  and  the  steady  diminu 
tion,  since  April  15,  of  their  unused  reserves  which  declined  from  44 
to  5.  He  said  that  Germans  having  concluded  that  the  French  were 
used  up  and  the  British  unprepared,  commenced  transporting  troops 
to  the  Russian  front,  and  among  other  things  he  wanted  to  save 
Russians,  so  he  ordered  attack  on  Lens  and  made  attack  on  Ypres. 
He  also  wanted  to  convince  Lloyd  George  and  others  of  his  capacity 
to  push  back  the  Germans  and  settle  the  war  on  western  front.  He 
thinks  it  wrong  tactics  to  attempt  to  secure  small  victories  at  Gaza  or 
Bagdad.  The  war  can  only  be  won  by  attacking  the  German  army. 
The  only  place  to  reach  them  is  at  the  western  front.  Germans  will 
never  admit  or  consider  themselves  defeated  even  if  all  their  allies 
are  whipped  and  forsake  them.  Hence  everybody  should  concentrate 
attention  here.  Italians  should  also  help.  .  .  . 

Thinks  Germans  are  beginning  to  realize  their  position  and  possible 
defeat  and  great  loss  of  economic  position,  and  will  in  October  or  so 
offer  peace  terms,  which  it  will  be  difficult  to  have  French  decline. 
He  begs  and  urges  that  no  early,  incomplete  peace  be  made,  now  being 
the  day  or  time  of  reckoning.  He  thinks  the  Germans  are  much 
worse  off  than  is  known.  He  is  positive  that  England  will  hold  out 
until  we  can  come  to  assist.  He  says  it  is  unnecessary  expense 
for  us  to  prepare  great  airplane  units,  and  that  shelling  German  cities 
will  not  end  war,  or  shorten  it.  It  is  right  here,  with  artillery  and 
infantry  and  of  course  a  proper  amount  of  airplanes,  that  work  must 
be  done. 

He  believes  that  the  U.  S.  is  destined  to  play  a  very  important  part, 
but  thinks  we  must  admit  it  is  also  self-defense  that  prompts  our 
actions,  and  not  only  the  altruistic  spirit.  He  said  the  French  were 
not  ready  at  Havre  to  receive  U.  S.  troops,  and  it  would  be  much  more 
effective  if  U.  S.  troops  joined  them  and  received  their  hints  in 
good  English  which  they  understood.  He  is  pleased  that  U.  S. 
troops  believe  in  same  system  of  warfare  as  English,  offensive  and 


JOFFRE,  HAIG,  AND  PERSHING      273 

hitting  out  and  not  defensive.  He  explained  their  method  of  attack 
ing,  their  intention  only  to  move  far  enough  each  time  to  secure  a 
height  and  drive  the  Germans  from  points  of  advantage  and  be  pre 
pared  for  counter  attacks  and  each  time  absorb  some  German  divisions. 
Lays  great  stress  on  gradual  diminution  of  German  unused  reserve 
division. 

Engineers  built  600  miles  of  standard  and  narrow-gauge  railroads. 
They  have  600  locomotives  and  6,000  cars.  Shortage  of  freight  cars 
was  great  handicap.  They  took  old  rails  from  England,  South  Amer 
ica,  and  U.  S.  to  build  these  lines.  He  hopes  we  will  send  more  rail 
road  men  and  engineers.  Quick  transporting  of  men  and  material 
greatest  help.  He  thinks  war  has  at  last  given  Great  Britain  an 
empire  and  hopes  it  will  also  give  them  the  U.  S.  as  a  permanent  ally. 
War  must  be  won  by  Great  Britain  and  U.  S.  jointly.  Said  their 
own  experience  will  make  them  patient  with  us.  Spoke  most  flatter 
ingly  of  Pershing  and  our  American  troops.  Thinks  their  tempera 
ment  is  so  spirited  and  warlike.  .  .  .  He  makes  the  impression 
of  a  determined  experienced  soldier,  who  has  a  well-defined  plan 
which  he  is  sure  will  lead  to  victory  and  wants  everyone  to  adopt  it 
and  fight  it  out  here  in  Flanders.  He  neither  drank  nor  smoked  at 
lunch. 

From  our  luncheon  with  Sir  Douglas  Haig  we  returned 
at  once  to  Paris.  My  diary  for  the  next  day  contains  the 
following: 

Wednesday,  August  29,  1917:  Called  at  headquarters.  Saw  Col. 
Harbord,  and  then  General  Pershing  .  .  .  Harbord  told  me 
French  put  Americans  south  of  them  and  not  next  to  English,  because 
they,  themselves,  wanted  to  be  defending  Paris  and  did  not  want 
foreigners  to  determine  destiny  of  France.  It  sounds  plausible.  He 
again  suggested  a  visit  from  Baker,  who  could  then  talk  more  con 
vincingly  to  Americans  and  would  understand  needs.  Pershing  told 
me  that  every  sinew  of  his  muscles,  every  artery  leading  to  his  heart, 
and  all  his  energy  and  hours  are  devoted  to  working  for  success.  He 
again  expressed  hope  of  United  States  fighting  to  the  end.  He  spoke 
of  needs  of  dockage  for  the  ships,  thinks  it  will  require  30  to  40. 
Feels  we  need  our  own  locomotives  and  cars  to  send  men,  etc.,  to 
front;  claims  our  camps  will  be  so  located  that  we  can  send  men  to 
any  part  of  lines.  Shipping  is  needed  to  bring  men  over,  and  then 


274  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

their  food  and  ammunition.  He  says  nothing  can  be  secured  here — 
all  must  come  over.  Hopes  seized  German  ships  will  answer;  if  not 
we  should  insist  upon  Allied  ships,  including  Japan  and  Italy.  It 
will  take  fully  a  year  before  we  can  be  of  much  actual  assistance. 

A  few  days  later,  I  sailed  for  America  to  make  my  re 
port  to  President  Wilson.  It  was  my  intention,  upon 
my  arrival  in  New  York,  to  make  this  report  in  the  form 
of  a  letter,  and  with  this  idea  in  mind,  while  still  aboard 
ship,  I  wrote  several  drafts  of  it  by  hand,  and  in  New 
York  dictated  a  letter  in  final  form  to  the  President  under 
date  of  September  15,  1917.  I  finally  decided,  however, 
that  a  verbal  report  was  better,  and  consequently,  I  pro 
ceeded  to  Washington,  and  on  September  19th,  called  on 
the  President.  I  gave  him  at  considerable  length  the 
information  I  had  gathered.  As  our  conversation,  how 
ever,  was  simply  a  verbal  enlargement  of  my  letter  of  the 
15th,  I  will  quote  that  letter  here.  It  is,  I  think,  of  some 
historical  importance: 

September  15,  1917. 
MY  DEAR  MR.  PRESIDENT  : 

After  close  observations,  visiting  fronts,  conversations  with  mem 
bers  of  the  French  Cabinet,  Generals  and  others,  both  French  and 
British,  I  have  arrived  at  the  following  conclusions,  which  I  submit 
for  your  consideration,  and  expect  to  elaborate  upon,  when  you 
grant  me  an  interview.  Among  the  men  I  have  talked  with  are 
Generals  Sir  Douglas  Haig,  Sir  Arthur  Currie,  J  off  re,  Pershing, 
Sibert,  Biddle,  and  others,  and  also  Messieurs  Painleve,  Ribot,  Cam- 
bon,  and  Steeg  of  the  Cabinet. 

No  separate  peace  can  be  made  at  present  with  the  Turks  as  they 
still  think  that  the  Germans  will  be  victorious,  and  because  many  of 
the  members  of  the  Union  and  Progress  Committee  are  enriching 
themselves  through  the  continuation  of  this  war. 

The  Turkish  atrocities  perpetrated  against  Armenians,  Syrians, 
and  Arabs  establish  beyond  doubt  that  the  Turks  should  no  longer  be 
permitted  to  govern  non-Moslems  and  non-Turks  of  any  description. 

The  British  and  French  successes  at  Verdun,  Ypres,  and  Lens  have 


JOFFRE,  HAIG,  AND  PERSHING       275 

reduced  the  German  unused  Reserve  Divisions  from  forty-four  in 
April  to  five  in  August,  and  have  demonstrated  that  the  German 
positions  are  not,  as  has  long  been  believed  in  the  United  States, 
impregnable.  The  British  and  French  are  now  confident  of  final 
victory,  depending,  however,  on  the  cooperation  of  the  United  States 
Army. 

For  moral  and  political  effect,  they  deem  it  highly  desirable  that 
more  American  troops,  though  unprepared,  be  sent  immediately. 

The  German  autocracy  with  its  strong  leadership  and  blind  follow 
ing  of  its  allies  will  never  yield  until  German  military  prestige  has 
been  destroyed. 

A  test  of  strength  will  have  to  take  place  on  the  Western  Front. 
Victory  will  be  won  as  much  through  the  steady  hand  and  intrepid 
determination  of  the  leader  that  will  direct  the  united  allied  forces 
as  by  the  physical  resources  that  will  be  employed. 

Both  British  and  French  authorities  have  separately  admitted  that 
in  none  of  the  Entente  countries  is  there  a  statesman  who  would 
satisfy  them  all  as  a  leader.  They  think  that  your  consistent  attitude 
in  this  great  struggle  between  democracy  and  autocracy  and  all  your 
messages  and  particularly  your  masterful  answer  to  the  Pope's  propo 
sition,  indicate  you  as  the  leader — to  take  immediate  control  of  the 
situation.  They  do  not  want  you  to  wait  until  our  Army,  Navy,  and 
Aircraft  are  equipped  and  at  the  front.  They  are  willing  to  discount 
all  this,  as  they  need  your  guiding  and  universally  trusted  hand  now 
at  the  International  Helm. 

Traditional  mutual  jealousies  and  ambitions,  and  their  consequent 
suspicions  disqualify  any  European  statesman  for  that  leadership; 
while  the  knowledge  that  America  has  no  political  ambitions  in  any 
part  of  the  Old  World,  and  the  esteem  which  they  feel  for  you 
personally  would  secure  you  the  enthusiastic  support  of  all  the  states 
men  of  the  Allied  Governments  and  their  peoples.  All  our  European 
co-belligerents  are  deferential  towards  us,  receptive  to  American 
ideas  and  ready,  as  far  as  possible,  to  meet  our  wishes.  I,  therefore, 
venture  to  urge  upon  you  to  give  this  matter  your  very  serious  thought. 
The  need  for  a  disinterested  leader  is  absolutely  imperative. 

In  addition  to  the  power  you  exert  through  the  Government  at 
Washington,  the  diplomatic  missions  in  the  Entente  Capitals,  and 
the  American  military  missions  in  Europe,  you  might  appoint  a 
special  commission  to  be  stationed  in  Europe  to  represent  you  in  all 
civil  and  political  matters.  It  is  difficult  here  to  enumerate  the  va 
rious  activities  which  you  could  entrust  to  such  a  Commission.  This 


276  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

Commission  should  assist,  in  case  of  need,  the  American  military 
authorities  in  their  relations  with  the  French  or  other  European  Gov 
ernments  and  try  to  avoid  and  adjust  all  possible  friction  between 
them;  it  should  be  in  touch  with  the  political  parties,  the  civil  author 
ities,  journalists,  and  all  men  who  have  a  share  in  the  forming  of 
public  opinion;  it  should  collect  all  possible  information,  especially  of 
a  political  nature,  and  report  the  same  to  you;  it  should,  at  the  same 
time,  through  the  press,  the  platform,  and  other  similar  means,  impart 
American  information  and  exercise  an  influence  on  French  public 
opinion  in  the  direction  you  may  desire.  I  lay  stress  on  this  matter 
of  exercising  an  influence  on  French  public  opinion  because  French 
affairs  are  now  subject  to  petty  political  differences,  schemes,  and 
counter-schemes  of  those  who  are  in  power  and  men  like  Caillaux, 
Briand,  Clemenceau,  and  others  of  the  opposition.  Such  a  commis 
sion  under  your  guidance  should  endeavour  to  exercise  such  a  salutary 
effect  upon  French  public  opinion  as  to  make  Frenchmen  forget  at 
this  critical  juncture  all  their  petty  strifes  and  induce  them  to  concen 
trate  their  entire  forces  and  energy  upon  the  great  main  aim  to 
destroy  the  autocracy  of  Germany,  which  should  be  declared  an  "  in 
ternational  nuisance"  for  it  is  maintained  by  the  Hohenzollerns  con 
trary  to  the  wishes  of  many  of  its  citizens.  Even  prior  to  the  war, 
more  than  forty  per  cent,  of  the  votes  were  cast  by  Social  Democrats 
and  others  of  the  opposition.  It  is  certainly  a  menace  to  the  welfare 
and  rights  of  self  government  of  surrounding  nations.  No  one  feels 
this  more  keenly  than  the  Germans  and  their  descendants  in  the 
United  States.  They  left  Germany  to  escape  this  monster  and  have 
enjoyed  the  privilege  of  living  anew  and  becoming  an  indissoluble 
part  of  this  great  liberty-loving  nation.  Alexander  II  emancipated 
the  Russian  serf;  Lincoln  freed  the  poor  Negro;  and  it  is  your 
privilege  to  extricate  the  Germans  from  their  miserable  thraldom. 

Moreover,  our  co-belligerents  have  divergent  and  conflicting  inter 
ests,  both  in  regard  to  the  disposition  of  territories  which  they  hope 
to  liberate  from  their  enemies,  and  in  regard  to  the  general  problem 
of  what  concessions  can  be  allowed  our  enemies,  when  the  bargain 
ing  begins. 

This  Commission  should  study  these  questions  and  all  others  con 
nected  with  them,  so  that  you  will  have  your  own  independent  up- 
to-date  information  upon  which  to  act  in  dealing  with  the  Allies  and 
the  enemies  during  the  war  and  at  the  Peace  Conference. 

Such  a  Commission  can  greatly  assist  you  in  your  task  to  infuse 
the  Great  American  Spirit  into  the  Allied  peoples,  and  so  strengthen 


JOFFRE,  HAIG,  AND  PERSHING      277 

them  that  they  will  fight  for  right  until  it  is  established  and  has 
permanently  destroyed  the  danger  of  a  tyrannic  militarism  fastening 
its  clutches  into  the  whole  world. 

Yours  most  sincerely, 

HENRY  MORGENTHAU. 


Perhaps  the  most  important  feature  of  my  conversation 
with  the  President  was  the  word  I  brought  him  of  the 
universal  desire  of  our  European  associates,  that  he  should 
exert  the  intellectual  and  moral  leadership  of  the  common 
cause.  The  President  was  deeply  impressed  with  the 
earnestness  and  solemnity  of  this  message  that  I  had 
brought  him.  He  seemed  for  the  moment  almost  over 
powered  at  the  thought  of  the  stupendous  responsibility 
that  it  thrust  upon  him.  We  now  know  how  nobly  he 
rose  to  that  responsibility — how  adequately  he  expressed 
and  organized  the  moral  basis  of  our  cause — with  what 
masterful  and  intellectual  grasp  and  statesman's  firm 
procedure  he  rose  to  be  the  undisputed  leader  of  a  world 
in  righteous  arms  against  the  menace  of  autocracy.  But, 
at  the  moment,  he  seemed  perplexed,  he  seemed  almost  to 
despair.  "They  want  me  to  lead  them!"  he  exclaimed. 
"But  where  shaU  I  lead  them  to?" 


CHAPTER  XIV 

JOHN  PURROY  MITCHEL 

SHORTLY  after  my  return  from  Europe,  John 
Purroy  Mitchel  came  to  my  house  to  seek  advice 
on  a  matter  concerning  both  the  destinies  of  his 
city  and,  as  the  event  proved,  the  end  of  his  own  career. 
He  asked  me  whether  he  ought  to  run  again  for  Mayor, 
or  accept  a  tempting  business  offer  that  had  just  been 
made  him. 

Mitchel  was  always  an  attractive  and  frequently  an 
inspiring  figure  in  municipal  affairs.  A  typical  Amer 
ican,  of  fighting  stock,  the  grandson  of  a  man  that  had 
battled  for  free  Ireland  and  the  nephew  of  a  politician 
that  had  made  his  mark,  Purroy  Mitchel,  whose  face  and 
carriage  reflected  the  latent  power  of  leadership,  was  one 
of  those  young  souls  at  once  sensitive  and  fiery  to  whom 
Tammany's  abuse  of  opportunity  becomes  a  personal 
affront.  More  than  once  our  paths  had  curiously  ap 
proached  each  other. 

Back  in  1908,  E.  H.  Outerbridge  had  come  to  my  house 
and,  as  chairman  of  the  Citizens'  Committee  in  the  current 
campaign,  urged  me  to  accept  the  fusion  nomination  for 
President  of  the  Borough  of  Manhattan.  My  answer 
was: 

"President  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen — yes,  but  no 
administrative  office." 

"I'm  sorry,"  said  Outerbridge,  "but  the  man  for  that 
place  has  already  been  determined  upon.  He  is  John 
Purroy  Mitchel." 

278 


JOHN  PURROY  MITCHEL  279 

Had  that  answer  been  different,  the  entire  course  of  my 
life  would  have  been  changed,  for  the  whole  Fusion  ticket 
was  elected,  with  the  exception  of  the  man  at  the  head  of 
it,  Otto  Bannard,  who  was  defeated  by  Judge  Gaynor. 
Mitchel  became  President  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen. 

Then  again,  while  in  that  office,  his  life  touched  mine. 

In  1912,  he  sought  me  in  much  such  a  quandary  as  that 
in  which  he  was  to  find  himself  in  1917.  He  had  been 
offered,  and  wanted  to  know  whether  he  should  accept, 
the  presidency  of  a  struggling  mortgage-guarantee  com 
pany  in  Queens  County.  He  was  evidently  influenced  to 
come  to  me  because  I  had  been  prominently  identified 
with  the  Lawyers'  Mortgage  Co.  of  New  York. 

This  was  then  my  advice : 

"It  would  be  a  good  thing  for  you  to  get  out  of  politics 
for  a  while  and  give  the  next  few  years  to  accumulating  a 
competency.  After  that,  you  can  reenter  politics,  in 
spired  by  business  experience  and  free  from  money  cares, 
but  this  mortgage  guarantee  company  is  not  what  you 
should  go  into.  Your  talents  and  special  training  as 
Commissioner  of  Accounts  could  be  much  better  utilized 
in  some  established  industrial  enterprise.  I  think  I  can 
arrange  to  have  you  made  the  vice-president  of  the  Under 
wood  Typewriter  Company."  I  promptly  took  up  the 
matter  and  arranged  an  interview  between  Mitchel  and 
Mr.  John  T.  Underwood,  with  the  result  that  the  former 
was  offered  the  vice-presidency  I  have  referred  to,  with 
the  sole  proviso  that  he  must  pledge  himself  to  hold  the 
position,  and  refrain  from  politics  for  at  least  five  years. 
Mitchel  hesitated  and  the  old  maxim  came  true :  "He  who 
hesitates  is  lost."  His  political  acumen  informed  him  that 
the  succeeding  autumn  would  offer  him  the  best  if  not  the 
only  chance  to  become  Mayor  of  his  native  city.  Devo 
tion  to  good  government  and  a  burning  desire  to  displace 
Tammany  were  his  ruling  passions :  he  disregarded  mate- 


280  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

rial  considerations,  declined  the  Underwood  offer,  and 
remained  in  politics. 

But  our  fates  were  not  yet  divorced.  In  the  spring  of 
1913  ex-President  Roosevelt  held  a  meeting  of  some  lead 
ing  Progressives  at  his  office  to  agree  on  a  fusion  slate 
for  the  next  New  York  Municipal  election.  It  was  plan 
ned  to  put  forward  a  candidate  who  would  attract  all 
shades  of  voters  but  who  was  opposed  to  Tammany  Hall. 
Charles  S.  Aronstam,  who  attended  the  caucuses  repre 
senting  the  Progressives  of  Brooklyn,  writes  me  this  ac 
count  of  that  gathering: 

I  have  been  trying  to  refresh  my  recollection  as  to  what  transpired 
at  the  conference  at  Colonel  Roosevelt's  office  in  June,  1913,  when 
your  name  was  suggested  as  a  probable  candidate  for  President  of 
the  Board  of  Aldermen  on  the  Fusion  ticket  with  Charles  H.  Whitman 
for  Mayor  and  William  A.  Prendergast  for  Comptroller.  There 
were  present  besides  the  Colonel,  the  late  Lieutenant-Governor 
Woodruff,  Mr.  Edward  W.  Allen,  of  Brooklyn,  and  myself. 

You  will  recall  that  at  that  time  Mr.  Whitman  was  on  the  crest 
of  the  wave  and  he  was  the  unanimous  choice  for  Mayor  of  the 
Republican  members  of  the  Fusion  Committee.  The  only  other  candi 
date  that  was  under  serious  discussion  was  Mr.  George  A.  McAneny. 
Mr.  Mitchel  having  been  appointed  Collector  of  the  Port  was  appar 
ently  out  of  the  running.  His  name  was  discussed  but  his  candidacy 
had  not  yet  reached  such  a  stage  of  development  as  to  make  him  a 
probable  choice.  Colonel  Roosevelt's  choice  between  the  two  was 
Mr.  Whitman,  not  because  of  his  superior  qualifications  over  Mr. 
McAneny,  but  because  of  his  greater  availability  on  account  of  the 
tactical  position  he  occupied  at  that  time  in  the  public  eye  and  because 
he  had  the  unanimous  backing  of  the  Republican  Party:  The  im 
portant  consideration  being  the  defeat  of  Tammany  Hall.  It  was 
then  suggested  that  with  Mr.  Whitman,  a  Republican  as  a  candidate 
for  Mayor,  and  Mr.  Prendergast  a  Progressive  as  a  candidate  for 
Comptroller,  in  order  to  invite  the  support  of  independent  Democrats, 
it  would  be  necessary  to  select  for  the  second  place  an  independent 
Democrat,  preferably  one  closely  associated  with  the  Wilson  adminis 
tration. 

I  do  not  recall  which  one  of  us  first  suggested  your  name  as  a 


JOHN  PURROY  MITCHEL  281 

most  desirable  choice  for  that  place  if  you  could  be  persuaded  to 
run.  I  do  recall,  however,  that  when  your  name  was  suggested, 
Colonel  Roosevelt  banging  his  fist  on  the  desk  in  his  characteristic 
manner  exclaimed,  "Just  the  man!  Do  you  think  he  would  consent 
to  run?" 

However,  I  sailed  for  Europe  before  they  could  get  in 
touch  with  me.  But  Aronstam  was  himself  to  take  ship 
within  a  day  or  two  and  Colonel  Roosevelt  commissioned 
him  to  see  me  abroad  and  secure  my  assent. 

My  recollection  is  that  Mr.  Aronstam  first  called  on 
me  in  Paris  and  that  there  was  then  made  a  tentative  de 
cision,  later  confirmed  by  a  letter  from  Aix-les-Bains. 
At  all  events,  his  mission  was  like  that  of  Mr.  Outerbridge 
years  before,  and  what  Aronstam  had  to  offer  me  was 
what  I  had  on  that  other  occasion  told  Outerbridge  I 
would  accept. 

My  natural  question  was: 

"Who  is  slated  for  Mayor?" 

"Charles  S.  Whitman." 

"What  about  Purroy  Mitchel?" 

Well,  Mitchel  was  Collector  of  the  Port,  and  not  con 
sidered  available,  whereas  Whitman,  as  District  Attorney, 
had  the  centre  of  the  stage,  and  would  appeal  to  the 
popular  imagination.  The  only  other  candidate  that  had 
been  considered  was  Mr.  George  McAneny,  and  the  Pro 
gressives  did  not  think  that  he  would  be  a  good  vote-getter. 

As  Aronstam  was  submitting  his  message  from  the 
Colonel,  my  mind  went  back  several  years  to  a  statement 
once  made  to  me  by  Herr  Earth,  a  well-known  member 
of  the  German  Reichstag.  He  said  that  men  of  the 
Roosevelt  type  would  never  be  content  to  remain  out  of 
office,  and  to  rest  in  the  role  of  merely  philosophic  guides 
for  the  people:  having  once  exercised  power,  they  must 
continue  to  possess  it. 

I  felt  that  Roosevelt,  for  his  own  good  and  the  good  of 


282  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

the  people,  should  reenter  the  public  service.  Here,  it 
seemed  to  me,  was  a  chance  to  serve  many  purposes. 
Roosevelt's  first  demonstration  of  his  power  had  been  in 
municipal  politics,  when,  as  Police  Commissioner  of  New 
York,  he  fearlessly  enforced  the  liquor  law.  I  recalled, 
too,  the  incident  of  his  unexpectedly  accepting  an  invita 
tion  to  review,  at  that  time,  a  parade  of  German  societies, 
and  how,  arrived  at  the  reviewing  stand,  he  heard  some 
body  unacquainted  with  his  presence  express  in  German 
the  wonder  whether  "Rosenfelt"  would  have  the  nerve 
to  put  in  an  appearance  at  a  time  when  he  stood  for  a 
strict  enforcement  of  liquor  regulations,  to  which  most  of 
them  were  opposed.  Roosevelt's  peculiarly  penetrating 
voice  supplied  the  answer: 

"Hier  ist  der  Rosenfelt" 

That  was  the  sort  of  man  New  York  needed  in  the 
present  juncture.  The  chance  ought,  moreover,  to  ap 
peal  to  him,  because  it  seemed  to  me  that  his  election 
would  be  inevitable,  and  that,  as  a  consequence  of  it,  he 
would  very  likely  re-occupy  the  White  House  in  1916. 

For  my  part,  I  had  just  refused  the  appointment  of 
Ambassador  to  Turkey,  which  I  then  considered  relatively 
unimportant.  I  believed  that  I  could  be  useful  as  a 
member  of  a  possible  Roosevelt  municipal  administra 
tion  and  so  I  said  to  Aronstam: 

"I'll  take  the  nomination  if  the  Colonel  himself  will 
run  for  Mayor." 

Mr.  Aronstam,  such  is  my  recollection,  cabled  home 
my  decision.  He  received  word  that  Whitman's  name 
was  to  stand  and  communicated  this  to  me  at  Aix-les- 
Bains.  From  there  I  wrote  to  him: 

MY  DEAR  MR.  ARONSTAM: 

After  very  mature  deliberation,  I  have  concluded  that  I  would 
not,  if  asked,  run  with  Whitman.  There  is  no  use  giving  you  my 
reasons  in  detail.  Kindly  take  this  as  final  and  so  inform  Timothy 


JOHN  PURROY  MITCHEL  283 

Woodruff.     I  don't  want  to  keep  him  and  his  associates  under  any 
mistaken  impression  that  your  telegram  may  have  created. 

I  would  run  with  T.  R.     He  would  win  and  make  a  great  Mayor. 

With  kindest  regards, 

Yours  sincerely, 

HENRY  MORQENTHAU. 

What  finally  happened  is  still  fresh  in  the  public  mind. 
Chosen  President  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  Mitchel's  ad 
mirers  had  groomed  him  vigorously  for  the  Mayoralty. 
President  Wilson's  appointment  of  Mitchel  as  the  Collec 
tor  of  the  Port  really  stamped  him  as  an  independent  Wil 
son  Democrat  and  placed  him  in  the  lime-light.  Elected 
Mayor,  he  surrounded  himself  with  men  of  his  own  years 
and  temperament.  He  gave  the  City  one  of  its  best 
administrations. 

So  the  circle  completed  itself.  We  now  come  back  to 
September,  1917.  Here  again  was  this  young  Robert 
Emmett  at  my  house  and  the  first  thing  he  said  was  a 
sort  of  echo  of  what  he  had  said  five  years  before : 

"Morgenthau,  do  you  think  I  ought  to  run  again  for 
Mayor?" 

Memory  paints  him  to-day  as  he  stood  there  then,  a 
hero  to  a  vast  number  of  New  Yorkers,  often  erratic, 
frequently  ill-advised,  but  still  a  justified  hero.  His 
dark  brown  hair  was  disordered,  his  Irish  grey-blue  eyes 
were  bright,  but  he  looked  more  matured  and  consider 
ably  more  care-worn  from  his  many  fights  and  the  scars 
they  had  left,  than  the  man  who  had  sought  my  advice  in 
1912. 

It  was  an  affecting  situation.  During  four  years  he 
had  done  his  best  for  the  City,  and  that  best  had  disap 
pointed  the  professional  office  holders  through  his  fixed 
determination  to  protect  the  tax-payers  he  had  alienated 
the  vast  army  of  municipal  employees, ;  finally  some  of  his 
investigations  had  antagonized  the  adherents  of  certain  of 


284  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

the  Catholic  charities;  and  he  undoubtedly  felt  that  the 
chances  for  his  reelection  had  been  considerably  dimin 
ished.  Ought  he  to  endeavour  to  complete  the  task  that  he 
had  set  himself  or  was  it  useless  to  make  further  efforts? 
My  advice  was  the  reverse  of  what  it  had  been  the  last 
time: 

"You  have  given  the  public  the  impression  that  you 
would  run  again.  You  must  not  drop  out  at  the  last 
moment;  you  must  not  retreat  under  fire;  you  will  have 
to  be  the  standard-bearer  of  good  government  in  this 
election  even  if  you  are  conscious  of  an  impending  defeat." 

For  any  writer  of  fiction,  this  episode  would  complete 
the  chain  of  coincidences,  yet  truth  forged  another  link. 
There  was  formed  a  citizens'  committee  to  conduct  a  mass 
meeting  in  City  Hall  Park  at  which  speakers  represent 
ing  the  un-bossed  element  of  all  parties  should  urge 
Mitchel  to  run  again  for  Mayor.  Charles  Evans  Hughes 
was  one  of  these  speakers;  so  was  Theodore  Roosevelt. 
The  others  were  my  old  friend  Outerbridge  and  myself. 
Thus  it  befell  that  here  was  Mitchel  in  office  and  urged  to 
remain  by  the  men  who  had  previously  played  at  such 
cross  purposes  in  connection  with  his  career. 

That  was  an  almost  unique  political  event.  The  young 
Democratic  Mayor,  still  flushed  from  his  fight  for  Pre 
paredness,  was  flanked  by  two  outstanding  Republicans, 
a  recent  Presidential  candidate,  and  a  popular  ex-Pres 
ident  ;  shoulder  to  shoulder  with  these  stood  the  head  of  the 
New  York  State  Chamber  of  Commerce,  and  myself  as  a 
representative  of  the  Wilson  Democrats.  One  and  all,  we 
called  upon  him  to  stand  again  for  Mayor. 

The  lighter  touch  was  not  lacking.  As,  following  Mr. 
Outerbridge  and  Mr.  Hughes,  my  turn  to  speak  arrived, 
I  turned  toward  Colonel  Roosevelt  and,  recalling  his 
famous  exclamation  about  throwing  his  hat  into  the  ring, 
said: 


JOHN  PURROY  MITCHEL  285 

"I'll  now  throw  my  hat  upon  the  steps." 

"No,  no,"  said  the  Colonel:  "let  me  hold  it!" 

He  took  and  guarded  it  throughout  my  address.  When 
he  was  about  to  speak,  it  was  my  part  to  return  the 
favour. 

"No,  thanks,"  said  Roosevelt.     "I  shall  need  my  hat." 

Why?     It  was  illuminating  to  observe. 

The  audience  naturally  shaped  itself  into  three  separate 
crowds :  those  directly  in  front  of  the  speakers,  and  those 
on  either  side.  When  the  Colonel's  effective  oratory 
evoked  applause  from  the  people  directly  in  front  of  him, 
he  would  turn  first  toward  the  right  and  then  toward  the 
left,  shaking  his  historic  soft  hat  as  he  did  so,  and  he  thus 
always  hauled  the  two  other  crowds  into  the  circle  of 
Mitchel  enthusiasm. 

Purroy  Mitchel  was,  however,  fighting  his  last  fight  as 
a  St.  George  against  the  Tammany  dragon:  Bennett  in 
sisted  on  running  as  a  straight  Republican  and,  as  such, 
drew  thousands  of  the  dyed-in-the-wool  Republican  votes ; 
the  Socialist  Morris  Hillquit  secured  the  ballots  of  the 
Pacifists  and  pro-Germans  in  addition  to  his  own  party's. 
On  the  eve  of  election,  a  party  of  us  concluded  our  efforts 
by  joining  Mitchel  in  a  trip  to  Camp  Upton  and  addresses 
to  the  soldiers  there.  Coming  home,  he,  Dr.  Arthur  B. 
Duel — who  had  gone  along  to  keep  the  candidate's  over 
taxed  vocal-cords  in  order — Commissioner  George  W. 
Bell,  and  I  had  a  midnight  supper  at  Patchogue. 

There  Mitchel  eased  his  overburdened  heart.  In  a  sub 
dued  voice  that  increased  the  effect  of  his  simplicity  and 
earnestness,  this  upstanding  young  man  gave  a  voluntary 
account  of  his  stewardship.  He  told  us  of  some  of  his 
struggles  in  office  that  it  would  be  a  betrayal  of  confi 
dence  to  repeat,  many  of  his  experiences  at  the  Platts- 
burgh  Training  Camp,  and  much  of  his  anxiety  to  do 
personally  his  share  in  this  great  World  War.  As  he 


286  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

spoke  of  his  present  campaign,  he  showed  that  he  antici 
pated  defeat,  and  was  philosophically  adjusting  himself 
to  the  conditions  he  expected  to  confront  on  January  2, 
1918.  Some  phrase  of  his  moved  me  to  remind  him  of  our 
offer  of  the  vice-presidency  of  the  Underwood  Typewriter 
Company:  he  frankly  confessed  that  he  would  have  been 
better  off  had  he  accepted  it,  devoted  part  of  his  youth  to 
business,  and  left  his  riper  middle  age  for  public  service ; 
but  my  present  belief  is  that  this  mood  was  the  fruit  of 
momentary  disappointment,  for,  shortly  after,  there  came 
a  return  of  his  more  characteristic  fighting  spirit,  and  he 
was  telling  us  that  he  would  not  accept  a  flattering  offer 
just  received  from  an  important  corporation — he  was 
again  going  to  act  as  he  had  acted  five  years  before  and 
would  give  his  services  to  his  country  so  soon  as  his  term 
in  the  Mayoralty  had  ended. 

That  course  he  consistently  pursued.  His  death  in  a 
falling  airplane  at  a  Texas  camp,  while  qualifying  as  an 
army  aviator,  was  mourned  by  the  entire  nation. 


CHAPTER  XV 

A  HECTIC  FOKTNIGHT — AND  OTHERS 

THE  Mitchel  campaign  was  an  incident — import 
ant  and  affecting,  but  only  an  incident — in  the 
stirring  summer  and  fall  of  1917,  when  we  had 
just  entered  the  war.  My  trip  to  Europe  that  summer, 
on  a  government  mission,  fixed  a  new  and  broader  pur 
pose  in  my  mind.  While  in  Turkey  in  1914  to  1916  I 
had  seen  only  the  German  machinations  and  listened  to 
the  German  apologies.  Now  I  had  observed  the  devasta 
tion  wrought  in  France  and  heard  from  French  and 
British  lips  their  version  of  the  war.  Moreover,  my  talks 
with  Joffre,  Painleve,  Sir  Douglas  Haig,  Sir  Arthur 
Currie,  and  others,  showed  me  how  fearfully  low  the  spir 
its  of  the  Allies  had  fallen  before  we  entered  the  struggle. 
Prussianism  had  defied  and  all  but  conquered  the  world; 
its  victims  were  at  the  very  edge  of  despair;  as  for 
America,  it  was  not  yet  fully  cognizant  of  the  sad  condi 
tions  prevailing  in  Europe,  because  censorship,  guided 
by  political  considerations,  prevented  the  full  truth  from 
crossing  the  Atlantic. 

When  I  returned  in  September,  I  was  impressed  not 
only  with  the  necessity  of  continuing  my  activities  to  alle 
viate  the  suffering  of  the  Armenians  and  the  Jews  and  of 
doing  all  I  could  to  eliminate  the  cause  of  that  suffering, 
but  I  was  much  more  impressed  with  the  bigger  thought 
of  also  doing  all  in  my  power  to  rouse  American  senti 
ment  to  the  fact  that  this  great  struggle  was  dependent 
upon  our  activities  to  replenish  the  diminishing  resources, 
both  physical  and  moral,  of  the  countries  which  were  im- 

287 


288  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

mersed  in  this  tremendous  conflict.  I  determined  to  make 
use  of  this  special  knowledge,  which  it  had  been  my  for 
tune  to  acquire,  to  help  defeat  the  Germans. 

This  dual  determination  made  the  ensuing  period  one 
of  intense  activities,  varied,  yet  not  conflicting.  Things 
happened  pell-mell,  but  are  more  coherent  if  grouped  topi 
cally  rather  than  chronologically. 

The  Armenian  outrages  were  constantly  in  my  mind, 
and  I  wrote  for  the  Red  Cross  Magazine  an  article  on 
the  Turkish  massacres  concluding: 

I  wonder  if  four  hundred  million  Christians,  in  full  control  of 
all  the  governments  of  Europe  and  America,  are  again  going  to  con 
done  these  offenses  by  the  Turkish  Government!  Will  they,  like 
Germany,  take  the  bloody  hand  of  the  Turk,  forgive  him  and  decorate 
him,  as  Kaiser  Wilhelm  has  done,  with  the  highest  orders?  Will 
the  outrageous  terrorizing — the  cruel  torturing — the  driving  of 
women  into  the  harems — the  debauchery  of  innocent  girls — the  sale 
of  many  of  them  at  eighty  cents  each — the  murdering  of  hundreds  of 
thousands  and  the  deportation  to  and  starvation  in  the  desert  of  other 
hundreds  of  thousands — the  destruction  of  hundreds  of  villages  and 
cities — will  the  wilful  execution  of  this  whole  devilish  scheme  to 
annihilate  the  Armenian,  Greek,  and  Syrian  Christians  of  Turkey — 
will  all  this  go  unpunished?  Will  the  Turks  be  permitted,  aye,  even 
encouraged  by  our  cowardice  in  not  striking  back,  to  continue  to 
treat  all  Christians  in  their  power  as  "  unbelieving  dogs  "  ?  Or  will 
definite  steps  be  promptly  taken  to  rescue  permanently  the  remnants 
of  these  fine,  old,  civilized,  Christian  peoples  from  the  fangs  of  the 
Turk? 

That  was  a  tragic  story,  but  it  had  its  lighter  phase. 
Following  a  common  custom,  the  editors  of  the  Red 
Cross  Magazine  printed  on  the  front  cover  of  their  pub 
lication  my  name  and  the  title  of  the  article.  The  juxta 
position  was  unfortunate  and  startling: 

"Henry  Morgenthau — The  Greatest  Horror  in  History!" 


A  HECTIC  FORTNIGHT  289 

"That's  pretty  rough,"  wrote  the  New  York  Sun.  "We 
always  realized  fully  that  the  former  Ambassador  to  Tur 
key  was  not  a  handsome  man,  but  the  Red  Cross  Maga 
zine  really  has  gone  too  far." 

The  Jewish  question  interested  me  quite  as  deeply,  and 
on  December  12,  1917,  I  published  in  the  New  York 
Times  a  carefully  considered  statement. 

This  was  the  fruit  of  my  thirty  months'  experience  with 
the  problem  of  the  Jews  in  Turkey  and  of  my  observations 
at  first  hand  of  their  status  and  projects  in  Palestine,  and 
was  in  line  with  my  purpose  to  do  more  than  alleviate  the 
present  sufferings  of  the  Jews.  Because  this  statement 
is  important  in  its  bearing  upon  my  chapter  on  Zionism, 
I  am  reproducing  it  here  in  full.  As  my  present  opinion 
on  Zionism  is  the  outgrowth  of  years  of  sympathetic  re 
flection,  continuous  observation,  and  conscientious  per 
sonal  study  of  the  facts,  I  should  like  to  emphasize  the 
date  of  this  publication,  and  thus  indicate  the  progress  of 
my  views  toward  their  settled  conviction  regarding  Zion 
ism: 


To  the  Editor  of  the  New  York  Times  : 

The  fall  of  Jerusalem,  its  recapture  by  Christian  forces  after 
twelve  centuries  of  almost  uninterrupted  Mohammedan  rule,  is  surely 
an  event  of  the  greatest  significance  to  us  all.  American  Christians, 
and  indeed  Christians  everywhere,  will  rejoice  that  the  Holy  Land, 
so  well  known  to  them  through  both  the  Old  and  New  Testaments, 
has  been  restored  to  the  civilized  world. 

I,  with  my  co-religionists,  rejoice  not  only  as  an  American  but  as 
a  cosmopolitan  who  recognizes  the  fertile  seeds  of  civilization  in  all 
truly  religious  faith  and  experience.  For  the  whole  civilized  world, 
the  10th  of  December,  1917,  will  be  remembered  as  a  day  of  profound 
historical  interest,  and,  I  hope  also,  of  large  meaning  for  the  future. 

During  my  recent  visit  to  Palestine,  I  was  greatly  impressed  by  the 
progress  made  by  the  Jewish  colonies.  These  colonies  had  developed 
under  most  adverse  circumstances,  and  had  demonstrated  fully  that, 
when  real  opportunity  is  given,  the  people  of  the  Jewish  faith  can 


290  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

create  most  creditable  self-governing  units.  With  Palestine  liber 
ated  from  the  curse  of  Turkish  misgovernment,  this  work  will  go  on 
with  ever  greater  success.  All  Jews,  both  the  Zionists  and  those  of 
us  who  do  not  take  part  in  the  advocacy  of  the  entire  programme  of 
the  Zionists,  rejoice  at  the  prospect  which  is  now  open.  Many  Jews 
will  wish  to  settle  in  Palestine.  Many  others,  as  well  as  great 
numbers  of  Christians  from  all  lands,  will  wish  to  visit  the  Holy 
Land,  and  there  undertake  studies  in  history  and  religion.  Many  of 
us  hope  that  the  Hebraic  language  and  the  elements  of  the  Hebraic 
culture  will  develop  there  sufficiently  to  be  again,  in  a  new  way,  of 
genuine  service  to  the  moral  and  cultural  life  of  the  world. 

But  at  this  point  I  wish  to  sound  a  note  of  warning  to  my  co 
religionists  on  the  one  hand,  and  on  the  other  strongly  emphasize  to 
all  my  American  fellow-citizens  that  certain  positive  facts  should  not 
be  overlooked  at  this  time.  I  believe  that  the  leaders  of  the  Zionists 
have  always  perceived  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  have  all  the 
Jews  return  to  Palestine,  and  that  the  others  who  hold  to  that  Utopia 
will  soon  be  disillusioned.  It  is  almost  unnecessary  to  refer  to  the 
fact  that  it  is  economically  impossible  to  settle  13,000,000  people 
upon  the  narrow  and  impoverished  lands  which  were  the  ancient  soil 
of  our  people.  But  this  is  not  what  I  wish  to  emphasize  chiefly.  The 
fact  that  has  vital  significance  to  me,  and,  I  believe,  to  a  majority  of 
*those  of  my  faith  in  America,  is  that  we  are  100  per  cent.  Americans, 
and  wish  to  remain  so,  irrespective  of  the  fact  that  some  of  our 
blood  is  Jewish  and  some  of  our  clay  is  German,  Russian,  or  Polish. 
To  us  and  our  children  America,  too,  is  veritably  a  Holy  Land. 

It  has  been  a  great  mission  of  the  Jewish  people,  through  their 
religious  faith,  to  teach  the  whole  Western  world  that  there  is  one 
God.  The  great  moral  and  spiritual  mission  of  the  American  people, 
in  my  opinion,  is  to  teach  the  world  that  there  must  be  one  brother 
hood  of  humanity.  I  hold  that  it  has  been  nothing  short  of  provi 
dential  in  the  history  of  the  human  race  to  have  had  America  pre 
served  as  an  undeveloped  continent  until  this  later  period.  We  are 
making  it  the  experimental  station  for  the  intergrafting  of  various 
peoples.  The  ideal  of  America  is,  through  freedom  and  equal  oppor 
tunity,  to  permit  the  complete  physical,  intellectual,  and  spiritual 
development  of  all  our  citizens.  The  American  people  are  not  the 
descendents  of  the  original  English,  French,  Dutch,  or  Spanish 
settlers.  The  American  people  to-day  are  composed  of  every  inhab 
itant  within  our  borders  who  loyally  supports  the  principles  which 
form  the  roots  of  our  national  life  and  well-being.  To  me  it  seems 


A  HECTIC  FORTNIGHT  291 

clear  that  the  principles  embodied  in  the  Declaration  of  Independ 
ence,  the  Constitution,  the  laws  and,  above  all,  in  the  moral  attitude 
of  mind  which  marks  the  true  American,  require  much  of  us.  Above 
all,  they  require  mutual  service,  equality  as  regards  the  highest  as 
well  as  the  less  important  goods  of  life,  and,  high  above  all,  complete 
toleration  and  mutual  respect.  These  are  the  veritable  foundations 
of  human  brotherhood.  This  is  America's  fundamental  contribution 
to  the  world's  civilization.  It  is  not  essential  in  this  connection,  even 
if  space  permitted,  for  me  to  indicate  and  emphasize  the  part  which 
the  Hebraic  laws,  Hebraic  morals,  and  the  Hebraic  religion,  through 
the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  have  had  upon  the  American  mind 
and  the  American  soul.  I  leave  that  to  the  historian.  I  am  here 
referring  to  the  present  and  the  future,  rather  than  to  the  past. 

We  have  now  come  to  a  great  crisis  in  the  history  of  the  world. 
The  essential  thing  for  us  is  to  fight  for  universal  peace  as  a  basis 
for  a  practical  world  brotherhood.  This  great  result  is  not  only 
possible,  it  is  necessary  if  civilization  is  to  endure.  Let  me  ask  my 
co-religionists,  face  to  face  and  heart  to  heart,  how  many  of  you 
would  be  willing  to  forswear  the  great  duty  we  have  here  and  the 
great  task  which  history  gives  us  of  being  true,  real,  unalloyed  Ameri 
can  citizens  in  this  time  of  resplendent  ideals  and  momentous  deeds, 
in  order  to  devote  your  entire  lives  to  the  upbuilding  of  Hebraic  in 
stitutions  in  Palestine.  I,  for  one,  do  not  see  that  it  is  at  all  necessary 
to  ignore  the  lesser  in  order  to  serve  the  greater  purpose.  But  let 
me  repeat  most  emphatically,  we  Jews,  in  America,  are  Jews  in 
religion  and  Americans  in  nationality.  It  is  through  America  and 
her  institutions  that  we  shall  work  out  our  part  in  bringing  better 
ideals  and  morals  and  sounder  principles  of  policy  to  the  whole  world. 
Likewise  the  Jews  of  the  British  Empire,  that  is  probably  99  per  cent, 
of  them,  have  not  the  slightest  intention  of  deserting  their  British 
fellow-citizens.  The  same  holds  good  as  to  France  and  Italy.  If 
Russia  maintains,  as  we  all  hope  and  pray  that  she  may  maintain, 
a  republican  form  of  government  in  which  the  elements  of  liberty  are 
saved  to  her  people,  the  Jews  of  Russia  will  very  soon  come  to  feel 
the  same  fellowship  with  all  their  Russian  neighbours  that  we  now 
have  as  regards  our  fellow-Americans. 

And  yet  Zionism  is  more  than  a  mere  dream.  Its  theories,  upon 
which  so  much  emphasis  has  been  placed  during  the  last  generation, 
contain  practical  elements  which  are  not  above  realization.  I  have 
reflected  much  upon  this  matter  and  I  have  had  the  privilege  of  dis 
cussing  it  with  leading  Jews  the  world  over.  I  most  sincerely  trust 


292  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

that  those  of  my  religious  faith  who  are  now  imbued  with  this  idea  will 
not  permit  impracticable  schemes  to  make  impossible  the  realization 
of  the  good  that  is  in  Zionism.  The  Jewish  communities  in  Palestine 
should  be  given  every  opportunity  for  development.  Some  Jews 
now  in  America  will  wish  to  live  there  permanently;  many  others, 
who  have  not  the  slightest  intention  of  surrendering  their  citizenship 
in  the  countries  where  their  children  are  to  live  and  work,  will  still 
wish  to  have  a  share  in  the  preservation  and  development  of  a  free, 
Jewish  Palestine.  But  not  only  Jews  are  interested  in  Palestine; 
every  truly  educated  and  liberal-minded  person  in  the  world  will  wish 
to  see  the  ancient  Jewish  culture  given  an  opportunity  for  expression 
and  growth.  Furthermore — and  this  is  what  I  beg  my  Jewish  fellow 
religionists  not  to  lose  sight  of  for  a  moment — all  Christendom,  too, 
looks  upon  Palestine  as  the  Holy  Land,  in  which  every  believing 
Christian  has  a  deep  religious  interest  and  a  right  to  share.  The 
thousands  of  Christians  who  will  annually  visit  Palestine  will  wish 
to  feel  that  they  have  a  part  in  all  the  holy  traditions  which  cluster 
about  the  sacred  localities  and  the  remaining  monuments. 

As  regards  the  administration  of  Palestine,  this  phase  of  the  subject 
does  not  seem  to  me  to  present  any  insurmountable  difficulties. 
Under  an  international  and  inter-religious  commission  there  could  be 
a  very  large  measure  of  self-government  on  the  part  of  the  local 
citizenship.  The  whole  world  is  now  moving  away  from  the  emphasis 
hitherto  placed  upon  extreme  nationalism.  The  forces  of  internation 
alism  must  be  developed  practically  and  systematically.  What  an 
error  it  would  be,  at  the  very  time  when  the  primary  message  to  the 
world  of  the  Jewish  people  and  their  religion  should  be  one  of 
peace,  brotherhood  and  the  international  mind,  to  set  up  a  limited 
nationalist  State  and  thereby  appear  to  create  a  physical  boundary 
to  their  religious  influence.  Let  us  give  the  strictly  Hebraic  culture 
a  better  chance  than  this  would  imply.  Let  us  permit  it  in  its  original 
form  and  purity  to  test  out  its  strength  with  other  religions  amid 
twentieth  century  surroundings.  Whatever  value  it  may  have  for 
the  world's  civilization  will  thus  be  fully  realized.  Meanwhile 
nothing  should  draw  our  attention  from  the  infinitely  greater  oppor 
tunities  of  the  age  in  which  we  live.  After  the  many  centuries  of 
restrictions,  persecutions  and  cruelties  suffered  by  our  people  we  are 
at  last  sharing  the  blessings  of  freedom  and  of  universal  fellowship 
in  all  the  great  democratic  countries  of  the  world. 

HENRY  MORGENTHAU. 

New  York,  Dec.  11,  1917. 


A  HECTIC  FORTNIGHT  293 

Sunday,  March  3,  1918,  was  the  last  day  for  me  to 
function  as  presiding  officer  of  the  Free  Synagogue.  Dr. 
Wise  had  asked  me  to  occupy  his  pulpit  on  that  date,  be 
cause  he  had  to  go  to  Washington  on  business  of  the 
nature  of  which  I  was  then  unaware.  The  next  day,  the 
New  York  Times  contained  the  following  statement,  tele 
graphed  from  Washington,  March  3rd: 


Approval  of  the  plans  of  the  Zionist  leaders  for  the  creation  of  a 
national  Jewish  Commonwealth  in  Palestine  was  given  to-night  by 
President  Wilson  to  a  delegation  of  representative  Jewish  leaders 
who  spent  an  hour  at  the  White  House  in  conference  with  the  Pres 
ident  over  the  international  status  of  the  Jews  around  the  world. 
The  delegation  was  headed  by  Rabbi  Stephen  S.  Wise  of  New 
York. 


It  affected  me  strangely  to  think  that  while  I  was  tak 
ing  Dr.  Wise's  place  in  the  pulpit,  he  should  be  helping 
to  secure  the  approval  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States  for  a  plan  of  which,  because  of  my  knowledge  of 
conditions  in  Palestine,  I  totally  disapproved.  I  tele 
phoned  Dr.  Wise  that  this  occurrence  determined  me  to 
resign  the  presidency  of  the  Free  Synagogue.  He  called 
at  my  house  and  tried  to  dissuade  me,  but  my  duty  seemed 
clear. 

In  effect,  I  said  to  the  doctor:  "You  are  entitled  to 
your  views,  and  I  to  mine,  which  I  propose  to  express  as 
forcibly  as  I  know  how,  whenever  I  think  they  will  do  the 
most  good  for  the  welfare  of  the  Jews.  I  still  hope  it 
will  never  fall  to  my  lot  to  attack  Zionism  in  public,  but 
I  assure  you  now  that  I  will  not  shirk  the  responsibility 
if  the  time  ever  comes  when  it  seems  right  that  I  should 
handle  it  without  gloves.  It  would  then  be  a  great  em 
barrassment  for  me  to  be  president  of  your  Synagogue." 

The  resignation  read  thus: 


294  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

March  3,  1918. 
EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE, 

Free  Synagogue. 

DEAR  SIRS  : 

After  twelve  years  of  incumbency  of  the  office  of  President  of  the 
Free  Synagogue  of  New  York,  I  am  impelled  to  resign  that  office. 
Much  as  I  have  enjoyed  the  honour  of  filling  this  position  and  the 
happy  and  inspiring  association  with  its  Rabbi,  Dr.  Wise,  I  feel  that 
our  views  of  Zionism,  in  the  advocacy  of  which  he  is  one  of  the 
leaders,  are  so  divergent  and  apparently  irreconcilable,  that  it  seems 
necessary  for  me  to  withdraw  from  what  may  be  called  the  lay 
leadership  of  the  congregation. 

I  would  have  no  question  arise  as  to  Dr.  Wise's  freedom  or  my  own 
freedom  regarding  Zionism. 

With  the  sincere  hope  that  the  friendly  and  cordial  relations  which 
have  long  obtained  between  Dr.  Wise  and  myself  will  be  unaffected 
by  this  decision,  I  am 

Yours  cordially, 

HENRY  MORGENTHAU. 

On  March  10th,  at  a  dinner  given  by  the  Executive 
Committee  of  the  Isaac  M.  Wise  Centenary  Fund,  which 
was  attended  by  about  fifty  rabbis,  I  made  the  following 
speech,  which  was  published  in  the  next  day's  Times : 

The  greatest  fight  in  history  has  just  been  fought  between  democ 
racy  and  autocracy.  It  was  so  important  that  we  should  centre  our 
attention  upon  it.  We  should  give  all  the  consideration  we  can  to 
awaken  ideals. 

You  have  that  chance  now.  Zionism  is  going  to  do  you  some  good. 
It  is  going  to  arouse  you  from  your  complacency.  You  must  realize 
that  it  will  turn  you  back  a  thousand  years.  Why  surrender  all  you 
have  gained  during  that  time?  Reformed  Judaism  must  assert  itself. 
If  American  democracy  can  annihilate  autocracy  and  anarchy,  we 
Jews  cannot  accept  the  foolish  argument  that  you  must  have  Zionism 
to  keep  the  Jews  as  Jews.  We  must  have  something,  but  it  is  not 
Zionism.  The  Rabbis  and  people  must  spread  Judaism  in  America 
and  they  must  be  militant. 

I  believe  that  to-day  there  is  a  religious  revival  in  the  world.  Why 
should  our  patriotism  be  doubted  if  at  the  same  time  we  are  to  have 
a  moral  awakening?  I  have  been  delighted  as  I  have  travelled  over 


A  HECTIC  FORTNIGHT  295 

this  country  in  order  to  promote  various  causes,  such  as  the  Jewish 
Welfare  Campaign,  to  find  the  Rabbis  honoured  in  their  communities, 
and  that  everywhere  they  held  important  positions.  We  can  have  a 
Jewish  revival  in  this  country,  which  is  our  Zion,  and  not  Palestine. 

I  have  no  objection  to  the  founding  of  a  Jewish  university  in 
Palestine.  I  think  it  is  a  fine  thing.  But  when  we  realize  the  oppor 
tunities  that  the  men  who  sit  at  this  table  have  had  in  this  country, 
it  seems  a  stupid  and  ridiculous  notion  not  to  admit  that  this  is  the 
Promised  Land.  Let  us  wake  up  and,  as  the  Christians  have  done, 
be  a  militant  religion. 

Everywhere  I  have  been,  people  have  told  me  that  they  were  not 
for  Zionism,  but  that  they  were  afraid  to  assert  themselves.  All  the 
Zionists  want  they  have  gotten.  President  Wilson  has  assured  us  that 
full  civil  and  religious  rights  would  be  granted  to  the  Jews  every 
where.  It  did  not  require  Zionism  to  get  that.  They  will  get  it  as 
the  result  of  the  conduct  of  the  Jews  throughout  the  world.  The 
League  of  Nations  would  be  imperfect  if  it  did  not  include  it. 

You  cannot  make  a  good  American  out  of  anybody  unless  he  is 
religious;  and  as  we  want  a  fine  morality,  we  are  looking  to  you 
ministers  of  the  Jewish  faith  to  give  it  to  us. 

To  the  moral  strength  of  our  nation,  American  Judaism  must  con 
tribute  in  the  greater  measure.  In  times  of  adversity  and  prosperity 
the  moral  and  spiritual  courage  of  the  Jew  has  become  proverbial. 
Now,  in  this  new  era  for  America  and  for  the  world,  this  strength  and 
courage,  the  roots  of  which  are  imbedded  in  our  religion,  must  be 
fostered  and  made  a  living  force  more  than  ever  before.  The  Isaac 
M.  Wise  Centenary  gives  us  the  opportunity  to  establish  the  insti 
tution  of  American  Judaism  on  a  firm  foundation.  This  we  must  do, 
lest  we  fail  to  contribute  in  the  fullest  measure  our  share  to  the 
spiritual  rebuilding  of  the  world. 


Extended  trips  for  the  Near  East  and  Jewish  Relief 
Committees,  and  also  for  the  Liberty  Loan  and  United 
War  Work  Drive,  had  taken  me  during  these  months  into 
almost  every  part  of  the  country,  addressing  gatherings 
in  cities  as  far  scattered  as  Lewiston,  Me.,  Atlanta,  Ga., 
and  Portland,  Ore.  The  itinerary  included  most  places 
of  any  size  in  the  Middle  West  and  frequently  demanded 
speeches  for  two  or  three  of  the  causes  the  same  day. 


296  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

The  meetings  were  usually  preceded  by  dinners  or 
luncheons  or  followed  by  receptions,  at  which  the  leading 
men  of  the  cities  gathered.  A  more  inspiring  experience 
it  would  be  hard  to  imagine  than  seeing  every  prejudice 
and  hatred  laid  aside  for  labour  in  a  common  cause. 
Wherever  my  way  led  there  were  revealed,  as  national 
characteristics,  an  intense  moral  enthusiasm,  warm-hearted 
response  to  human  suffering,  open-handed  generosity,  and 
mutual  tolerance. 

Nevertheless,  contact  with  voters  in  these  drives  had 
intensified  my  realization  that  a  large  number  of  our  citi 
zens  were  still  Pacifists  and  that  many  of  the  German- 
Americans  and  their  friends  were  protesting  that  the 
German  Empire,  innocent  of  having  caused  the  world 
struggle,  was  fighting  in  self-defense.  As  I  had  positive 
information  through  Baron  Wangenheim  and  the  Mar 
quis  Pallavicini,  my  German  and  Austrian  colleagues  at 
Constantinople,  that  the  war  was  premeditated,  I  con 
sulted  my  friend,  Frank  I.  Cobb,  of  the  New  York 
World,  how  best  to  make  this  fact  public.  The  result 
was  his  collaboration  and  the  appearance  in  that  paper  on 
October  14,  1917,  of  an  article  in  which  it  was  declared: 

This  war  was  no  accident.  Neither  did  it  come  through  the  tem 
porary  break-down  of  European  diplomacy.  It  was  carefully  planned 
and  deliberately  executed  in  cold  blood.  ...  It  was  undertaken 
in  the  furtherance  of  a  definite  programme  of  Prussian  imperialism. 

Proceeding  to  give  my  reasons  for  such  a  statement,  as 
cause  and  effect  had  been  revealed  to  me  by  Von  Wangen 
heim  himself,  the  article  included  the  first  authoritative 
confirmation  of  the  rumour  that  the  Kaiser  had  indeed 
held  the  now  famous  Potsdam  Conference,  at  which  the 
German  financiers,  as  early  as  the  first  week  of  July, 
1914,  had  been  instructed  to  complete  the  concentration 
of  the  Empire's  resources  for  war.  The  disclosure  of 


A  HECTIC  FORTNIGHT  297 

these  facts,  copied  in  newspapers  throughout  the  country, 
created  a  sensation  and  profoundly  influenced  American 
public  opinion. 

A  number  of  friends  urged  me  to  write  a  book,  giving 
my  evidence  more  fully  and  revealing  how  Germany  had 
dominated  Turkish  policy  and  forced  the  Sublime  Porte 
into  the  war.  Hesitancy  as  to  the  propriety  of  an  Am 
bassador  using  his  information  publicly  led  me  to  consult 
President  Wilson.  In  doing  so  I  expressed  the  opinion 
that  the  Congressional  election  of  1918  was  in  grave  doubt 
and  that  everything  should  be  done  to  prove  that  the  Ex 
ecutive  had  been  right  in  entering  the  war.  The  following 
letter  resolved  my  doubts  and  confirmed  my  inclination: 

THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

27  November,  1917. 

MY  DEAR  MR.   MORGENTHAU: 

I  have  just  received  your  letter  of  yesterday  and  in  reply  would 
say  that  I  think  you  get  impressions  about  public  opinion  in  New 
York  which  by  no  means  apply  to  the  whole  country,  but  nevertheless 
I  think  that  your  plan  for  a  full  exposition  of  some  of  the  principal 
lines  of  German  intrigue  is  an  excellent  one  and  I  hope  you  will 
undertake  to  write  and  publish  the  book  you  speak  of. 

I  am  writing  in  great  haste,  but  not  in  hasty  judgment  you  may 
be  sure. 

Cordially  and  sincerely  yours, 

WOODROW  WILSON. 

I  then  wrote  "Ambassador  Morgenthau's  Story." 
On  September  30,  1917,  I  had  contributed  to  the  New 
York  Times  an  article  headed,  "Emperor  William  Must 
Go."  Then  followed  the  World  interview  already  re 
ferred  to,  and,  on  October  18th,  less  than  a  month  before 
the  Armistice,  I  delivered  at  Cooper  Union  an  address 
in  which  I  said: 

There  is  only  one  way  to  chasten  Germany  and  that  is  to  defeat  her 
so  completely  that  the  memory  will  not  pass  out  of  her  mind  for 
many  generations.  Such  a  defeat  is  absolutely  essential  to  her  re- 


298  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

education  along  the  lines  of  civilization  and  democracy.  I  will 
regard  her  utter  defeat  in  a  military  sense,  and  the  elimination  of  her 
war-lords,  as  the  essential  preliminaries  to  the  new  German  demo 
cratic  state.  These  changes  are  necessary  to  re-establish  that  healthy 
and  normal  mentality  which  is  the  first  requirement  if  she  is  to 
emerge  from  the  present  war  a  nation  with  which  the  rest  of  the 
world  can  consent  to  associate  as  a  brother. 

On  March  8,  1918,  I  had  a  meeting  with  Lord  Read 
ing,  Lord  Chief  Justice  of  England,  whom  Lloyd  George 
had  sent  as  special  Ambassador  to  this  country.  In  our 
conversation,  he  revealed  a  fact  of  great  historic  interest. 

The  day  before,  at  a  luncheon  given  him  by  the  Mer 
chants'  Association  of  New  York,  Lord  Reading  had 
used  what  seemed  a  singular  expression  for  an  official 
representative  of  Great  Britain.  Referring  to  the  grav 
ity  of  the  military  situation  and  the  necessity  for  America 
to  exert  her  full  strength,  he  described  the  tremendous 
sacrifices  of  his  own  people  and  then  declared : 

"You  must  take  up  the  burden.  We  have  done  all  we 
can  do." 

Recalling  this  in  our  talk,  I  suggested  that  it  must  have 
been  a  slip  of  the  tongue,  and  asked :  "Did  you  not  mean 
to  say,  'We  (Great  Britain)  are  doing  all  we  can?' ' 

"Quite  the  contrary,"  Lord  Reading  instantly  replied. 
"I  said  it  deliberately,  and  it  is  the  fact.  Every  English 
man  that  is  fit  for  military  service  has  been  called  to  the 
colours ;  we  have  even  combed  our  civil  service.  We  have 
no  reserve  man-power  left." 

Nevertheless,  public  utterance  of  such  a  statement  at 
such  a  time  revealed  a  misconception  of  our  national  psy 
chology.  I  pointed  out  to  Lord  Reading  that  we  Ameri 
cans  were  not  yet  far  enough  advanced  in  experience  of 
war  to  react  favourably  to  such  a  message. 

Nor  were  the  women  that  we  met  in  these  war  activities 
less  interesting  than  the  men.  Mrs.  Emma  Bailey  Speer, 


A  HECTIC  FORTNIGHT  299 

president  of  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.,  sent  a  car  to  take  me  over 
to  Tenafly,  N.  J.,  to  make  the  dedicatory  address  at  a  new 
hostess  house.  In  the  car  was  a  lady  wearing  the  Y.  W. 
C.  A.  uniform.  She  said  that  Mrs.  Speer,  being  unable 
to  come  herself,  had  sent  her  as  a  substitute — and  it  was 
splendid  to  see  how  this,  the  daughter  of  Senator  Aldrich, 
and  the  wife  of  John  D.  Rockefeller,  Jr.,  could  be  just  a 
good  private  in  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.  ranks,  taking  her  position 
and  doing  her  duties  with  seriousness  and  efficiency. 

Soon  after  this,  we  gave  a  dinner  in  honour  of  Dr. 
Henry  Pratt  Judson,  president  of  Chicago  University, 
who  had  recently  returned  from  Persia  on  behalf  of  the 
Near  East  Relief  Committee.  An  amusing  incident  oc 
curred  which  partly  spoiled  the  evening  for  Mr.  Schiff, 
the  great  financier  and  much  beloved  leader  of  the  Jews, 
and  recognized  as  one  of  the  most  eminent  citizens  of 
America.  He  sat  next  to  Mrs.  Rockefeller  and  acci 
dentally  caused  the  spilling  of  a  cup  of  coffee  over  her 
dress.  She  tactfully  said  that  the  dress  had  been  cleaned 
before  and  could  be  cleaned  again.  Nevertheless,  it  de 
pressed  Mr.  Schiff  to  think  that  he  should  have  been  so 
awkward  as  to  raise  his  elbow  while  the  coffee  was  being 
passed.  A  week  later  he  showed  me  with  great  satisfac 
tion  a  letter  from  Mrs.  Rockefeller,  accepting  the  beauti 
ful  lace  scarf  which  he  had  sent  her  with  the  explanation 
that  it  was  to  cover  the  spot  on  her  dress.  The  incident 
again  proves  that  the  biggest  men  devote  the  required 
time  and  thought  to  straightening  out  even  such  little  mis 
haps  as  that  here  related. 

The  signing  of  the  Armistice  abruptly  terminated  hos 
tilities  a  year  earlier  than  most  people  had  expected. 
Public  opinion  was  far  from  clarified  upon  the  question  as 
to  the  kind  of  peace  treaty  which  should  be  drawn  up. 
The  public  did  realize,  however,  that  it  was  confronted 


300  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

with  an  issue  perhaps  even  more  vital  than  the  issues  of 
war.  A  peace  must  be  devised  to  end  this  war  and  pre 
vent  a  recurrence  of  so  terrible  a  disaster.  At  this  time, 
the  only  powerful  and  organized  body  of  men  which  had 
studied  this  subject  and  had  a  solution  to  offer  was  the 
League  to  Enforce  Peace.  The  leaders  of  this  league 
felt  that  it  was  a  public  duty  to  place  their  solution  before 
the  nation,  and  give  it  the  utmost  publicity  in  the  hope 
that  it  might  be  serviceable  in  directing  the  course  of  in 
vestigations  at  Paris  into  channels  of  permanent  benefit  to 
humanity. 

They  worked  out  an  ingenious  and  effective  plan.  Not 
content  with  merely  announcing  their  ideas  through  the 
press  or  on  the  platform,  they  organized  nine  "congress 
es"  in  as  many  cities,  each  the  centre  of  an  important 
section.  They  arranged  to  have  district  delegates  sent 
to  the  sessions  of  the  congresses,  and  from  five  thou 
sand  to  ten  thousand  delegates  attended  every  one;  be 
sides,  numerous  audiences  flocked  to  overflow  meetings. 
A  group  of  public  men,  headed  by  ex-President  Taft, 
was  organized  to  address  the  sessions,  as  representatives 
of  the  League.  I  was  asked  to  be  one  of  that  group. 

Mr.  Wilson  was  in  Paris.  Fearing  that  this  campaign 
might  in  some  way  embarrass  him,  or  conflict  with  his 
plans,  I  consulted  several  Cabinet  members:  Secretaries 
Lane  and  Houston  applauded  the  wisdom  of  the  proposed 
campaign.  Secretary  Baker  wrote: 

December  21,  1918. 

MY  DEAR  MR.   MORGENTHAU: 

I  return  herewith  the  letter  which  you  enclosed  with  yours  of  the 
twentieth. 

I  have  not  agreed  to  speak  for  the  League  to  Enforce  Peace,  nor 
have  I  any  idea  of  speaking  under  the  auspices  of  that  society;  not 
that  I  have  any  objection  to  it  but  simply  that  I  doubt  very  much  the 
wisdom  of  anybody  connected  with  the  Administration  at  this  time 


A  HECTIC  FORTNIGHT  301 

associating  himself  with  a  society  which  has  a  particular  mode  of 
assuring  future  peace.  So  far  as  I  am  personally  concerned,  I  am 
for  any  way  the  President  can  work  out.  I  did  say  to  Mr.  Filene 
and  some  other  gentlemen  who  called  upon  me  as  representatives  of 
the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  the  United  States,  that  I  would  be  very 
glad  to  attend  a  couple  of  dinners  held  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  and  incidentally  would  say  something  in 
favour  of  a  league  of  nations,  but  with  the  distinct  understanding  that 
I  was  not  speaking  for  the  Administration  and  was  not  speaking  for 
any  plan  or  programme  whatever.  Since  making  this  promise  I  have 
even  more  doubted  the  wisdom  of  doing  it,  for  exactly  the  reasons  you 
state  in  your  letter.  It  seems  to  me  entirely  possible  for  us  here, 
with  the  best  of  good  intentions,  deeply  to  embarrass  the  President 
in  his  very  delicate  task,  and  so  far  as  I  am  concerned,  I  have  no 
intention  of  doing  it.  Unless  I  change  my  mind,  I  will  beg  off  from 
the  engagements  already  made,  and  I  am  sure  it  would  be  better  for 
all  of  us  to  refrain  from  that  kind  of  discussion  just  now. 

Cordially  yours, 
(Signed)  NEWTON  D.  BAKER, 

Secretary  of  War. 


I  was  assured  that  I  was  expected  to  speak  only  in  the 
general  terms  of  an  association  of  nations  without  out 
lining  any  detailed  plan  therefor.  On  receipt  of  this  as 
surance,  I  decided  to  go. 

The  party  comprised  ex-President  Taft,  President 
Lowell  of  Harvard;  Dr.  Henry  van  Dyke  of  Princeton; 
Dr.  Charles  R.  Brown,  Dean  of  the  Yale  Divinity  School; 
George  Grafton  Wilson,  Professor  of  International  Law 
at  Harvard;  Edward  A.  Filene,  of  Boston;  and  Mrs. 
Philip  North  Moore,  of  St.  Louis,  president  of  the  Na 
tional  Council  of  Women.  The  three  weeks,  passed  in  a 
tour  of  the  country  with  such  able  and  delightful  people, 
was  thoroughly  enjoyed. 

On  this  journey,  my  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Taft  was 
transformed  into  a  genuine  friendship.  On  the  first  day 
out,  it  was  "Mr.  Morgenthau";  on  the  second,  "Henry 


302  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

Morgenthau";  and  on  the  third  it  became,  and  has  since 
remained,  "Henry."  He  was  a  most  delightful  travel 
ling  companion  and  fellow-worker,  good-humoured  under 
all  circumstances,  uncomplaining  under  the  heaviest 
tasks,  the  soul  of  friendliness  and  consideration:  "To 
know  him  was  to  love  him."  One  day,  as  we  were  sitting 
in  his  compartment,  discussing  some  details  of  the  trip,  he 
broke  into  one  of  his  characteristic  little  chuckles : 

"Here  you  have  been  opposing  me  politically  all  these 
years,"  he  said,  "and  now  we're  together  on  the  same  plat 
form  for  the  good  of  the  whole  world.  Doesn't  public 
service  make  strange  compartment  companions?" 

Our  trip  was  filled  with  hard  work,  exhausting  hours, 
and  not  a  few  discomforts,  but  it  brought  us  many  mo 
ments  of  inspiration  and  some  of  amusement.  Of  the 
latter,  one  stands  clear  in  my  memory.  We  were  stand 
ing  unobserved  at  the  railroad  station  of  a  small  town  in 
the  Dakotas,  when  President  Lowell  thought  we  ought 
to  do  something  "to  get  our  blood  in  circulation"  and 
challenged  me  to  a  foot  race  on  the  station  platform. 

"I'll  take  a  handicap — I'll  run  backwards." 

His  challenge  was  accepted,  and  he  won  the  race.  Then 
he  confessed  that  running  backwards  was  one  of  his  ac 
complishments  from  undergraduate  days. 

The  outstanding  moments  of  the  trip  were  those  which 
immediately  followed  our  receipt  of  the  first  draft  of  the 
League  Covenant.  We  were  steaming  through  Utah, 
when  it  was  handed  aboard.  At  once  it  was  given  the 
stenographers  for  manifolding,  and  none  of  us  is  likely 
to  forget  the  impatience  with  which  each  awaited  his  copy, 
the  eagerness  with  which  each  took  it  to  his  own  compart 
ment  for  study. 

That  evening  President  Lowell,  Dr.  Van  Dyke,  and  my 
self  were  called  to  Mr.  Taft's  compartment.  He  sat 
there,  his  face  all  aglow  with  satisfaction.  He  put  his 


A  HECTIC  FORTNIGHT  303 

hand  on  his  copy  of  the  Covenant,  which  was  lying  on  the 
table,  and  said: 

"I  am  delighted  to  find  it  has  teeth  in  it." 
We  had  a  long  discussion,  concluding  that  we  ought  to 
prepare  a  pronouncement  for  publication.  Mr.  Taft 
asked  us  three  to  draw  up  a  statement.  We  complied  and 
called  in  Professors  Brown  and  Wilson,  who  were  very 
useful  in  condensing  it.  Mr.  Taft  read  the  result,  ap 
proved  of  it,  but  added  the  concluding  sentence: 

The  alternative  to  a  League  of  Nations  is  the  heavy  burden  and 
the  constant  temptation  of  universal  armament. 

That  addition  made,  the  signatures  were  affixed,  and 
the  train  stopped  at  a  little  station  to  telegraph  our  state 
ment  to  the  Associated  Press.  The  local  telegrapher 
doubted  his  ability  to  transmit  accurately  a  message  that 
he  considered  so  important  as  this  one,  but  he  notified  the 
operator  at  the  next  town  to  be  ready  for  us,  and  from 
there  the  statement  was  sent  out  in  the  following  terms: 

AN   APPEAL   TO   OUR   FELLOW    CITIZENS 

The  war  against  military  autocracy  has  been  won  because  the  great 
free  nations  acted  together,  and  its  results  will  be  secured  only  if  they 
continue  to  act  together.  The  forces  making  for  autocratic  rule  on 
the  one  hand,  and  for  the  violence  of  Bolshevism  on  the  other  are 
still  at  work. 

In  fifty  years  the  small  states  of  Prussia  so  organized  central 
Europe  as  to  defy  the  world.  In  the  present  disorganized  state  of 
central  and  eastern  Europe,  that  can  be  done  again  on  a  still  larger 
scale  and  menace  all  free  institutions.  The  death  of  millions  of 
men  and  the  destruction  and  debt  in  another  world  war  would  turn 
civilization  backward  for  generations.  In  such  a  war  we  shall  cer 
tainly  be  involved,  and  our  best  young  men  will  be  sacrificed  as  the 
French  and  English  have  been  sacrificed  in  the  last  four  years.  Such 
a  catastrophe  can  be  prevented  only  by  the  reconstruction  of  the 
small  states  now  seeking  self-government,  on  the  basis  of  freedom 
and  justice;  but  this  is  impossible  without  a  league,  for  divided  its 


304  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

members  are  not  strong  enough  for  the  task.  Should  the  victorious 
nations  fail  to  form  a  league,  German  imperialists  would  have  a 
clearer  field  for  their  designs. 

By  the  abundance  of  its  natural  resources,  by  the  number,  intelli 
gence,  and  character  of  its  people,  the  United  States  has  become  a 
world  power.  It  cannot  avoid  the  risks  and  must  assume  the  re 
sponsibilities  of  its  position.  It  cannot  stand  aloof,  but  must  face 
boldly  the  facts  of  the  day,  with  confidence  in  itself  and  in  its 
future  among  the  great  nations  of  the  earth. 

United  as  never  before,  our  people  have  fought  this  war.  United 
and  above  party  we  must  consider  the  problems  of  peace,  resolved  that 
so  far  as  in  us  lies,  war  shall  no  more  scourge  mankind.  The 
Covenant  reported  to  the  Paris  Conference  has  come  since  the  last 
election,  and  the  people  have  had  no  chance  to  pass  judgment  upon 
it.  In  this  journey  from  coast  to  coast  we  have  looked  into  the  faces 
of  more  than  100,000  typical  Americans,  and  believe  that  the  great 
majority  of  our  countrymen  desire  to  take  part  in  such  a  league  as 
is  proposed  in  that  document.  We  appeal  to  our  fellow  citizens, 
therefore,  to  study  earnestly  this  question,  and  express  their  opinions 
with  a  voice  so  clear  and  strong  that  our  representatives  in  Congress 
may  know  that  the  people  of  the  United  States  are  determined  to 
assume  their  part  in  this  crisis  of  human  history.  The  alternative 
to  a  League  of  Nations  is  the  heavy  burden  and  the  constant  tempta 
tion  of  universal  armament. 
February  23,  1919. 
(Signed) 

WILLIAM  H.  TAFT. 

HENRY   MORGENTHAU. 

A.  LAWRENCE  LOWELL. 

HENRY  VAN  DYKE. 


Mr.  Taft's  endorsement  of  the  Covenant  as  then  drawn 
moved  me,  at  our  journey's  end,  to  telegraph  to  Wash 
ington  suggesting  that  he  join  President  Wilson  in  an 
exposition  of  the  League  before  a  great  mass  meeting. 
The  reply  came  back  that  such  a  plan  was  already  being 
put  into  execution.  It  was  carried  out  at  the  gathering 
on  March  4, 1919,  in  the  Metropolitan  Opera  House,  New 
York,  on  the  eve  of  Mr.  Wilson's  return  to  Paris. 


A  HECTIC  FORTNIGHT  305 

That  night,  when  the  Democratic  President  of  the 
United  States  walked  on  the  stage  with  the  Republican 
ex-President,  the  audience  seemed  almost  justified  in 
thinking  that  the  Covenant  had  been  lifted  above  partisan 
ship  and  that  the  Magna  Charta  of  the  Nations  was  se 
cure. 

This  conviction  was  strengthened  by  Mr.  Taft's  ad 
dress.  He  delivered  it  without  any  apparent  exertion. 
He  had  thoroughly  mastered  the  general  subject  during 
his  long  connection  with  the  League  to  Enforce  Peace,  he 
had  secured  the  draft  of  the  Covenant,  locked  himself  up 
with  it,  analyzed  and  digested  it.  He  had  "tried  out"  the 
subject  in  conferences  with  specialists,  and  presented  it 
before  popular  meetings  across  the  Continent.  Now,  for 
one  hour  and  a  half,  he  discussed  this  historic  document  in 
all  its  national  and  international  phases.  His  address, 
given  with  natural  and  admirable  simplicity,  the  quin 
tessence  of  deep  thought,  was  complete,  technical,  erudite, 
judicial:  the  reading  of  a  momentous  interpretation  by 
the  future  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States.  The  speaker  injected  some  of  his  native 
geniality  into  his  delivery;  but  not  for  that  reason  alone 
did  the  vast  audience  listen  ninety  minutes  without  a  sign 
of  restlessness :  the  believers,  the  doubters,  and  the  active 
opponents  were  spellbound  by  his  logical  and  convincing 
argument. 

During  all  this  time  it  was  more  than  interesting  to 
watch  the  fixed  attention  that  the  President  was  giving  to 
the  address.  We  all  wondered  what  was  going  on  in  his 
battling  brain.  Some  of  us  noticed  for  the  first  time  a 
nervous  twitching  in  his  cheek,  undoubtedly  a  reflex  of 
the  tremendous  harassment  that  he  had  undergone  in 
Washington. 

He  had  come  back  to  America  to  sign  some  bills  before 
the  expiration  of  Congress  on  March  4th,  and  brought 


306  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

with  him  this  Covenant.  Now,  before  his  departure  for 
Europe,  he  listened  to  the  fine  approval  of  his  ideal  by  his 
predecessor,  who,  though  prominent  in  his  party  and 
highly  esteemed  by  all  Americans,  was  not  speaking  with 
final  authority:  the  Senate  had  to  approve  the  Covenant 
before  it  could  become  binding  on  the  United  States. 

So  Woodrow  Wilson,  whom  the  peoples  of  the  world 
were  ready  to  accept  as  their  leader,  had  to  return  to  Paris 
knowing  that  the  thirty-seven  Senators  who  had  signed 
the  "round  robin"  were  pledged  against  him  in  terms 
which  could  have  no  other  purpose  than  to  notify  our 
Associates  at  the  Peace  Conference  that  the  Senate  would 
not  confirm  any  League  of  Nations  projected  by  him. 
With  this  fear  in  his  heart,  he  was  on  his  way  to  resume 
his  participation  in  the  greatest  diplomatic  struggle  of 
modern  times.  This  evening,  he  saw  again  unmistaka 
ble  evidence  that  if  the  American  people  possessed  the 
authority  and  could  express  it,  they  would  undoubtedly 
grant  him  the  necessary  power,  without  restrictions  or  res 
ervations,  to  enter  into  an  agreement,  which  would  help 
to  lift  the  world  out  of  the  mire  of  militarism  to  a  higher 
plane,  where  wars  would  disappear,  where  international 
peace  and  justice  would  prevail,  and  where  the  combined 
efforts  of  mankind,  purified  and  energized  by  its  moral 
elevation,  would  be  diverted  from  its  destructive  pursuits 
and  concentrated  on  the  promotion  of  happiness. 

That  evening  I  brought  Homer  Cummings  home  with 
me.  We  were  both  buoyed  up,  tingling  from  the  enthu 
siasm  of  that  great  meeting,  yet  fearing  that  this  League 
of  Nations  might  be  shattered  by  partisan  politics. 

As  we  settled  down  in  my  library,  I  said  to  Cummings : 

"Homer,  you  are  really  neglecting  your  duty  as  Na 
tional  Chairman  unless  you  undertake  immediately  to 
present  to  the  American  people  the  attitude  of  the  Demo 
cratic  Party  toward  this  League  of  Nations,  and  denounce, 


A  HECTIC  FORTNIGHT  307 

in  the  unmeasured  terms  that  it  deserves  this  violent  op* 
position  that  has  developed  against  it."  I  told  him  that  it 
required  a  real  Philippic,  and  then  related  to  him  my  own 
recent  experience  with  Demosthenes,  which  occurred  at  a 
dinner  given  to  some  Greeks,  when  Dr.  Talcott  Williams 
told  an  anecdote  of  Hellenic  influence  on  modern  life. 

Williams  said  that  some  twenty-five  years  ago  he  had 
asked  a  Princeton  college  professor  whether  there  was, 
in  his  opinion,  any  way  of  affecting  current  thought  ex 
cept  through  the  pulpit  or  the  press.  The  professor  re 
plied  that  there  was  the  forum,  and  that,  for  his  own 
part,  he  was  fitting  himself  for  the  forum  by  a  careful 
study  of  Demosthenes.  Years  passed,  and  Dr.  Williams 
met  the  professor  again  and  reminded  him  of  his  youthful 
conviction. 

"I  haven't  changed  my  opinion,"  said  the  Princetonian, 
"and  only  recently  I  had  to  brush  up  my  Greek  to  enable 
me  to  refresh  my  recollection  of  some  of  the  Philippics." 

The  Princeton  professor  was  Woodrow  Wilson. 

When  I  told  this  story  to  my  wife,  who  was  both  my 
kindest  and  severest  critic,  she  immediately  secured  and 
placed  on  my  desk,  without  any  comment,  a  translation 
of  Demosthenes.  Inspired  by  its  perusal,  I  dared  to  face 
a  great  audience  in  Buffalo  and  deliver  an  opening  ad 
dress  for  the  Liberty  Loans. 

I  said  to  Cummings:  "Now,  as  President  Wilson 
is  returning  to  Europe,  you,  Homer,  ought  to  be  the 
Demosthenes  of  the  Democratic  Party." 

Cummings  took  fire.     "I  believe  I  can  do  it,"  he  cried. 

He  was  the  man  for  it.  Physically  big,  with  a  com 
manding  presence  and  a  good  delivery,  his  experience  as 
a  member  of  the  Democratic  National  Committee,  his 
campaigns  for  Mayor  of  Stamford  and  Senator  from 
Connecticut,  and  his  successful  service  as  state's  attor 
ney  for  Fairfield  County  in  that  state,  had  qualified  him 


308  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

long  since  for  brilliant  public  speaking,  and  latterly  for 
public  speaking  of  the  denunciatory  sort. 

We  consulted  Demosthenes.  We  analyzed  the  Fourth 
Philippic. 

Cummings's  eyes  flashed,  as  he  exclaimed: 

"I  can  do  it!     I  can  do  it!" 

The  opening  was  to  be  a  vindication  of  the  Democratic 
Party  throughout  the  war  and  the  subsequent  peace  nego 
tiations:  the  peroration,  a  denunciation  of  the  opposition. 

The  question  remained:  what  forum  should  be  selected? 
We  canvassed  the  possibilities:  the  Economic  Club,  of 
which  I  was  then  president,  and  a  number  of  others.  One 
by  one,  all  were  dismissed.  Finally,  it  was  decided  to 
give  a  small  dinner  at  the  National  Democratic  Club  on 
the  evening  of  March  14th,  and  to  follow  that  immediately 
by  a  large  reception,  at  which  the  speech  in  its  first  form 
was  to  be  delivered. 

This  plan  was  carried  to  a  successful  conclusion,  and 
what  Cummings  said  that  night  was  the  basis  or  skeleton 
of  his  soon- famous  speech  at  San  Francisco.  "The  rest 
is  history." 

Meantime,  my  period  at  home  was  drawing  to  a  close. 
I  had  written  for  the  New  York  Times  "A  Vision  of  the 
Red  Cross  After  the  War."  On  March  7th,  I  received 
a  cablegram  from  Henry  P.  Davison.  It  asked  me  to 
serve  as  delegate  to  the  Conference  at  Cannes  for  the  for 
mation  of  the  International  League  of  Red  Cross  Soci 
eties.  Mr.  Taft  and  Jacob  Schiff  both  gave  me  advice 
that  matched  my  inclinations.  On  March  15th,  the  Times 
published  an  interview  giving  my  point  of  view  in  regard 
to  this  trip : 

I  am  going  to  Europe  to  assist  Henry  P.  Davison  in  his  work 
of  organizing  the  Red  Cross  for  the  great  mission  which  I  believe  it 
is  called  upon  to  perform  in  the  world. 

We  have  a  very  definite  vision  of  what  this  work  is  to  be.     The 


A  HECTIC  FORTNIGHT  309 

League  of  Nations,  when  it  is  formed,  will  necessarily  confine  its  ad 
ministration  to  the  more  material  aspects  of  government,  such  as 
boundaries,  armament,  and  economic  questions.  There  is  need,  there 
fore,  for  a  League  to  care  for  the  human  wants  and  moral  aspirations 
of  all  peoples.  This  other  "League  of  Nations"  may  well  be  the  In 
ternational  Red  Cross,  which  enlightened  men  and  women  are  now 
engaged  in  forming.  I  am  to  assist  in  that  work.  It  is  a  work  dear 
to  my  heart,  something  for  which  for  many  years  I  have  felt  there  is 
a  definite  need. 

The  Red  Cross,  in  the  new  and  more  splendid  opportunity  that 
has  come  to  it,  because  of  its  services  in  the  great  war,  is  the  medium, 
I  believe,  through  which  all  true  lovers  of  mankind  may  aid  in  making 
the  world  a  better  place  to  live  in. 

I  came  home  from  the  Democratic  Club's  reception  to 
Cummings,  snatched  a  few  hours'  sleep,  and,  on  the  fol 
lowing  morning,  boarded  the  ship  that  was  to  take  me  on 
the  journey  which  began  with  the  International  Red  Cross 
Conference  and  ended  in  my  investigation  of  the  Jewish 
massacres  in  Poland. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THE  INTERNATIONAL  RED  CROSS 

WE  SAILED  on  the  Leviathan,  formerly  the 
Vaterland.  When  we  boarded  the  ship,  we 
found  the  dock  was  elaborately  decorated  for  the 
arrival  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy;  the  handsome  royal 
suite  was  reserved  for  him  and  his  wife.  Josephus  Dan 
iels,  no  longer  wearing  his  customary  white  suit,  now  dis 
played  an  admiral's  cap,  and  was  surrounded  by  admirals 
and  captains  who  were  under  his  orders.  He  was  the 
Secretary  of  the  Navy  and  to  the  chagrin  of  some  of  our 
prominent  ironmasters,  he  had  assumed  the  exacting  su 
pervision  of  naval  armour  plate  in  lieu  of  his  effective  dis 
tribution  of  newspaper  boiler  plate  during  the  first  Wilson 
campaign. 

Other  fellow  passengers  were  seven  physicians  bound, 
like  myself,  for  the  international  conference  of  Red  Cross 
Societies  at  Cannes:  William  H.  Welch,  of  Johns  Hop 
kins,  typifying  to  us  all  the  wonderful  accomplishments 
of  the  Rockefeller  Institute;  L.  Emmett  Holt,  the  medi 
cal  foster-father  of  thousands  of  American  babies;  Her 
mann  M.  Biggs,  who,  in  his  official  capacities,  has  lifted 
public  hygiene  into  a  recognized  requirement  of  modern 
civilization;  Colonel  Russell,  Chief  of  the  Division  of  In 
fectious  Diseases  in  the  U.  S.  Surgeon-General's  office; 
Edward  R.  Baldwin,  head  of  the  well-known  Saranac 
Lake  Sanatorium  for  Tuberculosis;  Fritz  B.  Talbot,  of 
Boston,  famous  as  a  specialist  in  children's  diseases;  and 
Samuel  M.  Hammill,  head  of  the  Pennsylvania  Child- 
Welfare  Board.  With  these  was  Mr.  Chanler  P.  Ander 
son,  ex-solicitor  of  the  State  Department. 

310 


THE  INTERNATIONAL  RED  CROSS    311 

We  took  our  meals  at  the  same  table  and  used  these 
often  wasted  hours  to  weave  precious  strands  of  friend 
ship  that  can  best  be  created  amongst  people  animated  by 
the  same  aims  and  sharing  the  obligations  of  service.  At 
my  suggestion,  we  decided  to  hold  daily  meetings  to  pre 
pare  for  submission  to  the  Conference  a  plan  which  would 
embody  the  combined  thoughts  of  our  entire  party.  Dr. 
Welch  had  intended  to  devote  his  time  at  sea  to  writing  an 
article  on  his  old  associate,  Dr.  Osier,  but  rather  regret 
fully  postponed  his  task  and  accepted  his  usual  position — 
that  of  chairman.  Dr.  Holt  was  elected  secretary  so  that, 
with  Dr.  Biggs  as  vice-chairman,  we  transferred  to  our 
gatherings  the  precision  and  expert  management  of  the 
Rockefeller  Institute. 

Dr.  Welch's  first  thought  has  always  been  of  public 
service.  Before  our  country  entered  the  war,  he  went  to 
the  President  and  suggested  making  ready  our  medical 
practitioners  and  hospitals  for  service.  Mr.  Wilson  ap 
pointed  him  to  the  Council  of  National  Defense,  and  some 
day  the  public  will  be  surprised  to  learn  how  much  he  did 
toward  that  phase  of  preparedness.  On  the  Leviathan 
he  brought  out  what  was  best  in  us  and  proved,  at  the  age 
of  sixty-eight,  the  fallacy  of  the  popular  interpretation  of 
Dr.  Osier's  statement  about  the  end  of  human  usefulness 
at  forty-five. 

All  of  the  physicians  were  animated  by  this  same  high 
motive:  not  to  commercialize  their  talents,  but  to  devote 
much  of  them  to  research  work  for  the  benefit  of  man 
kind.  As  all  of  them  were  recognized  authorities  in  their 
respective  fields,  they  stated  their  experience  and  knowl 
edge  in  so  convincing  a  manner  that  it  was  like  reading 
the  last  word  written  on  the  subject. 

After  a  few  days  of  strictly  medical  discussion,  I  ven 
tured  to  read  them  my  conception  of  the  proper  future 
of  the  Red  Cross  as  published  in  the  New  York  Times  of 


312  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

March  15,  1919,  arguing  that  this  noble  organization 
ought  now  to  become  militant  and  endeavour  to  reach  with 
curative  and  preventive  measures  into  the  innermost  re 
cesses  of  both  hemispheres,  where  diseases  originate  and 
dense  ignorance  prevails.  We  all  agreed  that  we  must 
remedy  the  intellectual  deficiencies  as  well  as  the  physical 
weaknesses  of  the  backward  peoples,  and,  therefore,  pre 
pared  a  memorandum,  later  presented  to  the  Conference, 
recommending  a  broad  international  programme  of  this 
character. 

We  landed  at  Brest,  and  hurried  to  Paris  and  imme 
diately  reported  to  Mr.  Davison.  There  I  met  Mr. 
Hoover's  secretary,  who  said  that  "The  Chief" — a  title 
given  Hoover  by  all  his  admiring  adherents — was  anxious 
to  see  me.  I  found  Hoover  concerned  as  to  whether  our 
contemplated  organization  would  conflict  with  his  exclu 
sive  authority  conferred  by  President  Wilson  to  manage 
all  the  American  relief  activities  everywhere.  I  promptly 
relieved  his  mind,  assuring  him  that  the  League  of  the  Red 
Cross  Societies  had  no  intention  of  distributing  food  or 
in  any  way  interfering  with  the  American  Relief  adminis 
tration. 

Our  first  Red  Cross  meeting  was  held  next  day  in  Mr. 
Davison's  office  at  the  Regina  and  then  we  presented  our 
programme,  urging  its  adoption  as  necessary  to  retain  the 
interest  and  cooperation  of  the  millions  of  adult  and  jun 
ior  members  of  the  American  Red  Cross.  But,  unfor 
tunately,  Mr.  Davison  relied  largely  on  Colonel  Strong, 
and  his  plans  were  adopted;  they  were  conventional  and 
confined  to  a  limited  field. 

A  few  days  later,  Mr.  Davison  gave  a  dinner  at  the 
little  old-fashioned  house  on  the  Quai  de  la  Tourelle.  The 
recruits  from  America  were  meeting  the  scarred  veterans 
just  returned  from  the  front-line  trenches.  Here  were 
the  men  that  had  fought  dismay  in  Italy,  typhus  in  Ser- 


THE  INTERNATIONAL  RED  CROSS    313 

via,  who  had  worked  wonders  on  the  Bosphorus,  and  saved 
the  babies  of  Roumania.  We  heard  their  modest  reports 
through  which  their  valour  and  their  triumphs  shone  like 
so  many  pillars  of  fire.  America  had  done  these  things : 
all  non-combatant  Americans  had  faithfully  worked  to 
develop  the  organization  which  made  them  possible;  we 
newcomers  from  America,  burning  with  the  volunteer 
spirit  and  ready  with  a  programme  to  continue  that  useful 
ness  and  extend  it  throughout  all  the  world,  were  raised, 
as  we  listened,  far  above  the  material  plane. 

War-time  regulations  were  still  in  force:  all  lights 
should  have  been  extinguished  at  9 :30,  and  Frederic  him 
self  popped  a  worried  head  in  at  the  door  several  times 
to  tell  Davison  so.  Therefore,  when  our  host  called  on  me 
for  the  closing  speech,  he  said : 

"I  regret  that  you  will  have  only  five  minutes  for  it,  too. 
The  curfew  has  rung  three  times  already." 

In  concluding  my  speech,  I  said: 

"My  friends,  I  have  been  entranced  by  the  splendid 
spirit  displayed  this  evening.  I  have  shared  with  you  the 
elation  of  the  hour. 

"You  field  workers  have  inspired  us  by  recounting  the 
blessings  that  have  been  showered  upon  you  by  the  thou 
sands  of  grateful  recipients  of  your  services,  while  we 
have  freshened  your  drooping  enthusiasm  and  reinforced 
your  ardour  by  transmitting  from  your  millions  of  mem 
bers  at  home  their  hopes  and  prayers  that  you  will  '  Carry 
On.'  The  determination  of  all  the  guests  to  transform 
these  hopes  into  definite  actions  seems  to  have  changed 
this  table  into  an  altar  at  which  to  pledge  ourselves  to  as 
sume  this  new  task  of  further  brothering  those  who  are 
still  crying  for  help." 

Next  day,  on  the  train  for  Cannes,  when  Davison  called 
Chanler  Anderson  and  myself  into  conference,  I  again 
stated  that,  as  we  had  the  moral,  scientific,  educational, 


314  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

and  sociological  experts  of  nearly  all  the  world  mobilized 
and  ready  for  further  work,  it  would  be  criminal  negli 
gence  not  to  make  use  of  such  an  unprecedented  oppor 
tunity.  Davison  agreed  as  to  fundamentals,  but  was 
afraid  that  too  big  a  programme  would  frighten  away  the 
representatives  of  other  nations.  We  could  have  the 
larger  goal  in  mind,  he  said,  and  hope  ultimately  to  reach 
it,  but  we  must  commence  with  something  concrete  in  the 
conventional  way  to  secure  the  cooperation  of  the  non- 
American  delegates. 

Nothwithstanding  this,  the  Cannes  Conference  was  an 
inspiring  experience. 

Here  we  were  gathered  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  ex 
changing  condolences  for  the  terrible  ravages  suffered  by 
the  various  nations,  watching  intently,  and  waiting  with 
deep  fear  in  our  hearts  the  outcome  of  the  developments 
in  Paris,  hoping  and  praying  that  some  definite  good 
would  result  from  this  war,  bewildered  at  our  inability  to 
recognize  any  definite  signs  of  a  coming  solution,  con 
scious  that  the  old-fashioned  diplomacy  was  eclipsing  the 
modern  thoughts  and  aims  of  the  progressive,  disinter 
ested  members  at  the  Conference.  We  felt  that  perhaps 
true  democracy  could  only  exist,  as  it  did  at  our  Confer 
ence,  where  every  man  was  chosen  on  account  of  his  indi 
vidual  merit,  and  not  on  account  of  birth,  or  political  pull, 
or  influence ;  and  some  of  us  thought  that,  perhaps,  after 
all,  the  improvement  of  the  world  would  have  to  be 
brought  about  by  a  non-political  body  of  men,  whose  right 
to  serve  arose  from  their  own  qualifications,  and  whose 
tenure  of  service  would  not  be  influenced  by  constant 
changes  in  government.  It  dawned  upon  us  that,  per 
haps,  these  millions  of  members  of  the  Red  Cross  Societies 
all  over  the  world,  with  the  many  more  millions  that  would 
join  them,  could  undertake  to  establish  a  permanent  or 
ganization  that  would  put  into  practical  execution  all  the 


THE  INTERNATIONAL  RED  CROSS    315 

teachings  of  religion,  science,  education,  medicine,  hy 
giene,  and  sociology.  While  those  in  Paris  were  rear 
ranging  the  boundaries,  we  were  trying  to  develop  the 
universal  spirit  of  service  to  all  humanity  which  would 
recognize  no  boundaries,  or  class  distinctions,  or  religious 
differences. 

Under  the  presidency  of  Dr.  Emile  Roux,  the  worthy 
successor  of  Pasteur,  it  became  a  Congress  of  Scientists. 
Leading  members  of  the  medical  profession  in  the  Asso 
ciated  Nations  were  there,  and  the  same  tone  of  unselfish 
interest  on  behalf  of  humanity  that  I  had  found  among 
the  American  representatives  prevailed.  Rivalries,  en 
vies,  personal  ambitions  were  totally  absent;  there  was 
none  of  the  crossing  and  double-crossing,  scheming  and 
misrepresentation  of  a  political  convention.  These  fine 
intellects  were  making  a  genuine  effort  to  create  an  agency 
through  which  all  discoveries  in  medicine  and  hygiene 
could  be  utilized  for  the  benefit  of  mankind  without 
thoughts  of  royalties  or  patents.  It  was  a  revelation  to  a 
practical  business  man,  and  I  sincerely  wished  that  more 
business  men  could  profit  by  such  an  experience  with  prac 
tical  idealists. 

In  private  talks  some  of  the  delegates  from  the  differ 
ent  countries  responded  wonderfully  to  my  suggested 
plan,  but  they  had  been  stunned  by  the  war  and  were  be 
wildered  by  the  resultant  chaos  and  depended  on  the 
United  States  to  take  the  lead.  Another  thing  discour 
aged  me:  no  representatives  were  present  from  the  gen 
eral  educational,  sociological,  or  philanthropic  worlds,  and 
the  best  of  men  must  necessarily  see  life  through  the 
glasses  of  their  own  profession.  Consequently,  I  was  not 
surprised,  though  I  was  disappointed,  by  the  adoption  of 
Colonel  Strong's  programme. 

It  was  what  his  remarks  in  Paris  had  indicated.  Early 
activities  were  to  be  limited  to  those  of  an  international 


816  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

health  and  statistical  bureau.  The  Conference  decided 
that  the  international  societies  should  deal  only  with  gen 
eral  hygienic  improvement  and  child-welfare,  and  that 
even  in  these  matters  the  central  organization,  instead  of 
doing  the  actual  work,  should  leave  that  to  the  constituent 
league  members  and  confine  itself  to  the  development  of 
policies  and  the  collection  of  statistics. 

The  question  remained :  who  was  to  be  the  executive  of 
this  still  potentially  important  force? 

Throughout  the  Conference  Davison  was  recognized  as 
its  organizing  and  directing  spirit.  It  was  a  delight  to 
see  him  in  action,  to  note  his  quick  response  to  suggestions, 
his  prompt  absorption  of  committee  reports,  his  analysis 
of  technical  addresses.  Devoting  the  full  measure  of  his 
great  ability  to  the  work,  he  was  performing  it  admirably 
and  enjoying  the  performance.  Everything  depended 
upon  the  choice  of  a  director-general;  yet  here  was  the 
very  man  to  maintain  vitality  in  this  organism :  why  should 
he  not  remain  the  leader? 

The  result  was  a  heart-to-heart  talk,  in  which  I  still 
clung  to  my  "Vision  of  the  Red  Cross  after  the  War." 

For  two  solid  hours,  with  all  the  eloquence  and  per 
suasiveness  I  could  muster,  I  tried  to  induce  Henry  P. 
Davison  to  abandon  his  business  career  and  devote  the  rest 
of  his  life  to  this  cause.  I  argued  that  the  great  satisfac 
tion  he  plainly  felt  through  contact  with  scientists  of  one 
profession  indicated  the  enjoyment  he  would  experience 
in  bringing  together  the  leaders  in  education,  sociology, 
and  general  philanthropy;  and  that  the  ability  which  made 
him  successful  with  the  physicians  would  completely 
eclipse  that  success  when  he  added  to  these  the  leaders  in 
other  fields.  I  told  of  a  discussion  I  had  had  in  Paris  with 
John  R.  Mott,  and  how  thoroughly  he  regretted  that  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  could  not  undertake  this  great  work. 

"No  president  of  any  republic,"  I  said,  "has  ever  had 


THE  INTERNATIONAL  RED  CROSS    317 

such  an  opportunity  as  this.  Here  is  a  chance  to  lead  an 
army  that  will  eventually  really  improve  the  world.  You 
have  shown  that  you  possess  the  requisite  administrative 
ability  and  vision.  By  sterling  qualities  and  hard  work, 
you've  reached  the  top  of  the  business  ladder.  On  it  there 
is  nothing  above  you  comparable  to  what  this  new  career 
holds.  Until  a  few  years  ago  you  used  your  personal 
magnetism,  and  all  the  gifts  so  generously  bestowed  upon 
you,  in  finance.  Now,  you  have  been  using  them  with 
phenomenal  success  in  philanthropy.  You  must  know 
that  the  former  is  ephemeral,  while  in  the  latter,  the  good 
to  be  done  is  lasting.  While  so  many  are  exploiting  the 
masses,  you  can  lead  in  benefiting  them.  The  thing  that's 
needed  to  cure  the  ills  of  man  isn't  another  compromise 
peace  treaty.  Practical,  world-wide  philanthropy  is  the 
thing  that's  needed,  and  the  man  who  organizes  that  will 
be  the  acknowledged  leader  of  modern  humanitarianism." 

Davison  was  really  deeply  moved.  He  listened  atten 
tively,  sympathetically;  he  was  under  the  spell  of  the  ideal. 
But  the  chords  that  held  him  to  materialism  were  too 
strong ;  he  was  still  enmeshed. 

"I'll  do  everything  I  can  to  help  make  a  success  of  the 
larger  Red  Cross,"  he  said,  "but  I  can't  devote  my  entire 
time  to  it." 

"That's  not  enough,"  I  answered.  "It  will  be  impossi 
ble  for  you  to  run  an  International  League  of  Red  Cross 
Societies  the  way  you're  running  railroads  and  other  en 
terprises,  from  the  corner  of  Broad  and  Wall  streets." 

Then  he  put  his  arm  around  my  shoulder  and  said,  in 
effect: 

"I  don't  want  to  make  any  more  money,  but  I  owe  a 
definite  obligation  to  my  firm  and  the  corporations  I'm 
connected  with.  I  wish  with  my  whole  heart  that  I  could 
go  on  with  the  Red  Cross,  but  it's  impossible,  Morgenthau 
— impossible!" 


318  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

There  being  no  appeal  from  his  decision,  we  canvassed 
other  names.  The  matter  reduced  itself  to  a  choice  be 
tween  Franklin  K.  Lane  and  General  W.  W.  Atterbury, 
and,  as  the  latter  was  in  France,  Davison  had  him  come  to 
Cannes  and  talk  the  proposition  over,  but  found  that  the 
General  considered  it  his  duty  to  resume  his  position  as 
vice-president  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  as  soon  as  he 
was  released  from  the  army.  We  then  turned  toward 
Secretary  Lane,  and  agreed  that  I  should  send  the  follow 
ing  telegram : 

ADMIRAL  GRAYSON, 

c/^  President  Wilson, 

Place  des  Etats-Unis,  Paris. 

Kindly  ascertain  and  notify  by  telephone  Otis  Cutler,  Hotel 
Regina,  Paris,  whether  President  Wilson  has  any  objection  to  Sec 
retary  Lane  being  approached  to  accept  the  General  Directorship  of 
the  Associated  National  Red  Cross.  Davison  and  his  advisers,  after 
a  thorough  canvass  of  available  material  here,  have  unanimously  con 
cluded  that  Lane  is  best  equipped  for  this  most  important  post.  As 
success  of  movement  is  so  largely  dependent  on  its  management,  we 
hope  President  will  assent. 

(Signed)  HENRY  MORGENTHAU. 

The  reply  was  another  evidence  of  Wilson's  fine  loy 
alty  to  his  friends : 

HON.  HENRY  MORGENTHAU, 
Cannes,  France. 

The  President  does  not  know  what  the  position  proposed  is,  but 
he  could  not  see  his  way  to  approving  anything  that  would  necessarily 
involve  Secretary  Lane's  withdrawal  from  his  position  unless  the 
desire  originated  with  him. 

(Signed)  CARY  T.  GRAYSON. 

Davison  then  cabled  one  of  his  partners  to  see  Lane  per 
sonally  and  asked  me  to  cable  Lane  direct,  which  was  done 
as  follows: 


THE  INTERNATIONAL  RED  CROSS    319 

FRANKLIN  LANE, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

Welch,  Biggs,  Farrand,  Holt,  and  myself,  who  have  been  consulted 
by  Davison  as  to  choice  of  Director  General,  all  believe  that  you  are 
the  best  man  for  the  position  and  that  the  movement  will  give  you 
an  unhampered  opportunity  to  utilize  your  wonderful  experience. 
We  all  urge  you  to  give  it  favourable  consideration.  Have  read 
Davison's  cable  and  it  does  not  fully  picture  the  unlimited  scope  of 
service  afforded.  It  is  second  to  no  prior  chance  to  help  suffering 
humanity. 

(Signed)  MORGENTHAU. 


If  Davison  would  have  taken  the  director-generalship, 
or  if  it  could  have  been  given  to  Lane  or  Atterbury,  or 
someone  else  of  their  vision  and  ability,  the  organization 
might  have  become  a  very  different  affair  from  what  it  is 
to-day.  But  this  was  not  to  be.  Accident  intervened  be 
fore  Lane  would  act,  and  the  International  League  of 
Red  Cross  Societies  added  another  to  the  list  of  the  world's 
lost  chances.  This  is  what  happened : 

We  had  come  back  to  Paris.  The  Executive  Commit 
tee  was  in  session  at  the  Hotel  Regina.  In  an  unguarded 
moment,  Davison  said: 

"If  Great  Britain  can  produce  a  man  fitted  for  the 
director-generalship,  I  shall  consent  to  his  appointment." 

Instantly,  Sir  Arthur  Stanley  jumped  at  the  offer.  He 
was  president  of  the  British  Red  Cross  and  the  younger 
brother  of  the  Earl  of  Derby,  at  that  time  British  Ambas 
sador  to  France.  He  has  a  lame  foot,  but  his  intellect  is 
as  agile  as  any  man's.  His  bright  eyes  flashed  like  dia 
monds.  Trained  fencer  that  he  is,  he  saw  the  opening 
Davison  had  given  him  and  took  full  advantage  of  it. 

"I'll  investigate  immediately!"  said  he. 

I  went  over  to  Davison  and  in  Stanley's  hearing  told 
him  that  this  was  a  mistake;  the  Americans  should  name 
the  Direct  or- General,  because  we  would  have  to  assume 


320  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

the  burden  of  organization  and  had  the  resources  to  do  so 
properly. 

"And  the  French  and  Italians  will  side  with  you,"  I 
added,  "if  it  is  a  choice  between  England  and  us." 

Luncheon  recess  intervened.  During  it,  I  spoke  to  the 
Latin  delegates,  and  they  confirmed  my  opinion.  They 
admitted  that  they  had  not  realized  what  the  proposition 
meant,  and  that  they  certainly  preferred  to  have  an 
American.  At  the  afternoon  session  they  proposed,  in 
this  hope,  that  the  selection  of  a  Director-General  be  left 
entirely  to  Davison. 

He,  however,  said  that  he  was.  committed  to  his  propo 
sition,  though  he  hoped  that  Sir  Arthur  would  not  be  able 
to  find  a  man  equipped  for  the  post.  Two  days  later, 
Davison  informed  me  that  Sir  Arthur  had  proposed  Gen 
eral  David  Henderson,  and  that  he  (Davison)  had  had 
thorough  inquiries  made  about  Henderson  and  found  that 
his  record  and  standing  were  such  that  no  objection  could 
be  raised.  Henderson  became  Director-General. 

One  last  hopeful  note  was  sounded.  I  had  told  Mr. 
Davison  to  command  me  if  he  thought  I  could  do  any 
thing  further,  and  I  was  pleasantly  surprised  when  he 
came  and  asked  me  whether  my  offer  included  a  dinner  to 
the  Governors  of  the  League  of  the  Red  Cross  Societies. 
He  explained  that  he  was  making  this  request  because  a 
former  diplomat  could  secure  the  greatly  desired  attend 
ance  of  the  diplomatic  representatives  now  gathered  at  the 
Peace  Conference. 

The  result  was  one  of  those  thoroughly  cosmopolitan 
dinners  which  could  have  occurred  only  in  that  city  and  at 
that  time.  In  addition  to  the  Red  Cross  board,  there 
were  present  representatives  of  the  twenty-four  different 
countries  that  had  been  invited  to  join  our  League. 
Speeches  were  made  by  Ian  Malcolm,  speaking  for  Sir 
Arthur  Stanley  and  Great  Britain;  Count  Kergolay,  for 


THE  INTERNATIONAL  RED  CROSS    321 

France ;  Count  Frascara,  for  Italy ;  Professor  Arata  Nina 
Gawa,  for  Japan;  Sir  Eric  Drummond,  Secretary- 
General  of  the  League  of  Nations;  General  Henderson, 
the  newly  chosen  head  of  the  Red  Cross  League;  Count 
Wedel  Jarlsberg,  of  Denmark,  doyen  of  the  Diplomatic 
Corps  in  Paris ;  Dr.  Welch,  Mrs.  William  K.  Draper,  Mr. 
Davison,  and  Dr.  William  Rappard,  acting  as  interpre 
ter  and  also  speaking  on  behalf  of  the  International  Red 
Cross  at  Geneva.  I  presided  as  toastmaster  and,  listen 
ing  to  the  sentiments  of  the  various  addresses,  all  pitched 
in  the  highest  optimistic  and  philanthropic  key,  felt  that 
here  was  a  readiness  to  cooperate  that,  if  properly  directed 
into  action,  might  yet  launch  the  organization  upon  the 
seas  of  larger  usefulness. 

This  hope,  however,  was  never  realized.  When  we 
failed  to  retain  Davison  as  the  active  leader,  or  to  get 
somebody  of  equal  ability  for  Director-General,  I  feared 
that  the  League  of  Red  Cross  Societies  would  become  a 
soulless  bureau;  that  it  could  not  undertake  any  of  the 
broader  activities  we  had  hoped  for,  and  that  this  wonder 
ful  nucleus  of  millions  of  adult  and  junior  humanitarians 
would  never  be  transformed  into  that  great  army  of  world 
welfare-workers  which  some  of  us  had  dreamed  about  and 
that  all  mankind  so  sorely  needs.  Subsequent  events  have 
justified  my  fears. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE 

IN  PARIS  we  found  an  entirely  different  state  of  af 
fairs  from  that  at  Cannes.  I  was  drawn  almost  im 
mediately  into  the  maelstrom  of  the  Peace  Confer 
ence  :  it  was  a  rude  awakening.  Instead  of  men  who  were 
freely  utilizing  their  individual  attainments  for  the  gen 
eral  good,  this  was  a  battle  of  conflicting  interests,  petty 
rivalries  and  schemes  for  national  aggrandizement.  Each 
group  of  all  the  world's  ablest  and  craftiest  statesmen  and 
politicians  was  seeking  advantages  for  its  own  political 
entity  and  resorting  to  every  old,  and  many  new,  methods 
to  gain  its  ends. 

The  representatives  of  the  various  countries  had  come 
expecting  to  find  an  international  court  of  justice,  where 
a  set  of  supermen  would  rearrange  the  earth,  settle  all  dis 
putes,  terminate  all  grievances,  and  make  a  new  world- 
map  along  fair  ethnological  and  national  lines.  Yet  no 
body  knew  how  this  was  to  be  done.  The  little  nations 
looked  to  the  big,  but  the  big  were  too  much  concerned 
with  their  own  affairs,  and  with  the  division  of  the  spoils, 
to  be  able  suddenly  to  convert  themselves  into  impartial 
judges.  Loyalty  to  their  own  countries  overshadowed 
their  interest  in  the  general  good.  There  was  just  so  much 
benefit  to  be  divided,  and  in  the  struggle  of  everyone  to 
secure  a  larger  share  for  himself,  many  failed  to  get  any 
thing,  and  almost  nothing  was  left  for  the  common  good. 
Nearly  all  were  scheming  to  weaken  the  arch-enemy, 
Germany,  by  despoiling  her  of  territory  and  creating 
strong  safeguards  around  her.  The  best  comparison  that 

322 


THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  323 

comes  to  my  mind  is  that  of  a  legal  contest  over  the  terms 
of  a  will  disposing  of  a  large  estate.  All  the  possible 
heirs  were  here  in  Paris:  the  legitimate,  the  illegitimate, 
and  such  posthumous  children  as  Czecho- Slovakia  and 
Poland  were  crowding  into  court.  Five  trustees  had,  in 
deed,  been  appointed  to  effect  a  just  division — the  repre 
sentatives  of  Great  Britain,  France,  Italy,  Japan,  and 
the  United  States — but  these,  with  the  exception  of  Amer 
ica,  were  themselves  claimants,  and  the  pleas  were  so  con 
flicting  that  no  human  genius,  or  group  of  them,  could 
have  rendered  a  decision  to  the  satisfaction  of  all.  Pres 
ident  Wilson  realized  this,  and  partly  because  of  it  pro 
posed  a  League  of  Nations  as  a  permanent  court  to 
settle  what  could  not  be  settled  at  the  Peace  Conference. 

My  observations  were  made  from  an  advantageous* 
position.  The  hopes  and  ambitions  of  the  various  powers 
were  centred  in  President  Wilson;  their  representatives 
were  courting  him  and  his  friends,  and  as  I  had,  at  the 
request  of  the  United  States  commissioners,  joined 
William  H.  Buckler  in  studying  the  Turkish  problem, 
my  rooms  at  the  hotel  were  soon  transformed  into  a  sort 
of  office  and  general  meeting-place  for  some  of  the  most 
interesting  figures  at  the  Conference. 

Kerenski  was  one  of  these.  He  was  not  apparently 
the  consumptive  figure  pictured  by  the  daily  press;  on  the 
contrary,  he  was  a  burly  man  with  a  thick  neck  and  a 
mighty  voice.  When  he  pleaded  his  case,  he  waxed  so 
eloquent,  and  his  tones  reached  such  a  pitch,  that  I  had  to 
close  the  windows  for  fear  outsiders  might  think  there 
was  a  fight  in  my  rooms. 

Although  representing  no  established  government  and 
personifying  the  Russian  regime  that  had  overthrown 
Czarism,  only  to  be  itself  supplanted  by  the  Bolsheviki, 
Kerenski  felt  that  the  services  of  the  real  Russian  people 
to  the  Allied  cause  entitled  his  party  to  a  hearing  at  the 


324  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

Peace  Conference.  Prophetically,  he  told  me  that  the 
extremists  did  not  represent  the  Russian  people,  and  that 
they  were  forcing  things  too  far  ever  to  succeed.  I  re 
member  almost  his  exact  words : 

"Russia  is  finished  with  the  past,  but  is  by  no  means 
ready  to  go  to  its  antithesis.  I  myself  represent  the  mid 
dle  course,  and  the  world  will  some  day  realize  that  my 
government  was  evolutionary,  not  revolutionary." 

Kerenski  was  especially  hurt  by  the  fact  that  "even  the 
Americans"  would  not  listen  to  him.  With  fiery  phrases, 
he  explained  convincingly  that  there  could  be  no  general 
peace  until  Russian  affairs  were  adjusted,  and  that 
160,000,000  people  who  had  so  manfully  contributed  their 
full  share  against  Prussianism  could  not  justly,  or  even 
safely,  be  ignored. 

"I  am  not  the  spokesman  of  them  all,"  he  admitted; 
"but  I  do  represent  the  political  sentiment  that  must 
eventually  prevail." 

Dr.  Robert  Lord  was  in  charge  of  Russian  affairs  for 
the  American  delegation.  I  had  him  meet  Kerenski  the 
next  day  in  my  rooms,  and  from  this  meeting  an  invitation 
to  the  Crillon  followed. 

A  more  pathetic  picture  was  that  presented  by  the 
Chinese  delegation.  They  gave  a  dinner  to  a  number  of 
Americans,  including  Thomas  Lamont,  Edward  A.  Filene, 
Senator  Hollis,  Charles  R.  Crane,  Professor  Taussig, 
and  myself.  The  affair  may  have  been  hopefully  con 
ceived,  but,  on  that  very  day,  Ray  Stannard  Baker  came 
to  them  with  President  Wilson's  message  that  he  had  to 
consent  to  the  Japanese  pretensions  in  Shantung. 

We  had  gone  for  a  banquet;  we  remained  for  a  wake. 
The  Chinese  delegates  frankly  feared  that  their  failure  to 
secure  a  proper  adjustment  with  Japan  might  so  exas 
perate  their  people  at  home  as  to  lead  to  personal  harm  to 
them.  They  felt  that  their  treatment  by  the  Conference 


THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  325 

would  arouse  their  nation  from  its  ancient  lethargy  and 
transform  it  into  a  military  power  that  might  eventually 
avenge  its  injured  pride.  One  of  them  said  to  me: 

"We  have  a  much  firmer  moral  foundation  than  Japan, 
and  we  have  a  population  of  400,000,000  as  against  its 
56,000,000.  We  possess  as  much  latent  power  as  the 
Japanese,  and  I  dread  to  contemplate  what  may  happen 
if  it  is  ever  aroused." 

To  look  into  the  eyes  of  those  Chinamen  as  they  talked 
to  us  and  to  observe  their  bearing  under  the  trying  circum 
stances  of  that  evening  was  to  learn  a  lesson  in  restraint. 
The  gravity  of  their  situation  was  freely  admitted,  and 
yet  they  were  perfect  hosts  to  us  Americans  whose  leader 
had  just  disappointed  them. 

Even  more  pathetic  than  the  Chinese  discouragement 
was  the  hopeless  case  of  the  Persian  delegates.  Having 
come  thousands  of  miles  to  present  their  plea  for  a  new 
opportunity  to  achieve  national  regeneration,  they  were 
denied  even  a  hearing  by  the  peace  commissioners.  They 
pleaded  for  a  release  from  the  British-Russian  yoke. 
They  told  us  wonderful  stories  of  their  natural  resources 
that  could  be  developed  promptly  and  with  great  profit  if 
they  could  only  be  assured  of  security,  or  if  they  could 
feel  secure  from  the  interference  by  the  larger  nations, 
and  assured  of  the  cooperation  of,  instead  of  exploitation 
by,  foreign  capital.  They  alluded  to  iron  and  coal, 
copper,  lead,  and  manganese.  The  stories  they  told  re 
minded  one  of  the  descriptions  of  Mexico  and  Peru  before 
they  were  conquered  by  Cortez  and  Pizarro.  Those  cases 
involved  all  the  risks  of  conquest  in  an  unknown  country, 
and  the  voyages  thither  were  fraught  with  grave  danger, 
while  here  was  a  nation  whose  resources  were  not  in  doubt, 
but  could  be  examined  at  leisure,  and  by  experts,  and  their 
existence  proven ;  and  the  Persians  who  had  been  educated 
abroad  and  knew  European  conditions  fairly  implored 


326  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

us  to  bring  within  the  reach  of  Persia  the  benefits  of  the 
progress  made  by  these  other  countries  during  the  last 
few  hundred  years,  while  Persia  was  allowed  to  remain 
untouched  and  unbenefited  by  those  wonderful  recent 
inventions  that  have  enriched  all  the  countries  that  utilized 
them.  Ali  Kuli  Khan,  with  his  charming  American  wife, 
whom  I  had  known  previously,  told  me  that,  at  a  large 
dinner  which  the  Persians  had  given,  one  of  our  American 
Peace  Commissioners  publicly  promised  them  that  the 
United  States  delegation  would  help  them  to  a  hearing; 
relying  on  this  promise,  Ali  Kuli  Khan  had  transmitted 
the  news  to  his  home  government,  only  to  have  his  hopes 
speedily  dashed  to  pieces. 

Bratianu,  the  Roumanian  premier,  was  anxious  to 
secure  American  influence  against  a  clause  in  the  Rou 
manian  treaty  recognizing  the  rights  of  minority  peoples 
resident  in  his  country.  He  invited  my  wife  and  me  to 
dine  with  him  and  two  royal  princesses  of  his  native  land, 
Elizabeth  and  Marie,  who  have  since  respectively  become 
the  wives  of  the  Crown  Prince  of  Greece  and  the  King 
of  Serbia.  When  I  told  him  that  the  United  States 
was  absolutely  pledged  to  securing  the  equal  rights  for 
minorities  everywhere,  and  that  I  heartily  favoured  this, 
he  showed  his  disappointment  and  said  that  Roumania 
would  never  consent  to  it.  He  declared: 

"I  would  rather  resign  as  premier  than  sign  such  a 
treaty." 

When  the  time  came,  he  made  good  his  word. 

In  contrast  to  this  unyielding  ultra-conservative's  point 
of  view  was  the  Due  de  Vendome's,  the  Bourbon,  and  as 
such,  of  the  royal  blood  of  France.  He  was  married  to 
the  sister  of  the  King  of  Belgium.  It  is  rather  an  amus 
ing  story  to  tell  how  I  became  acquainted  with  him. 
While  we  were  at  Cannes  in  the  midst  of  the  conferences, 
one  day,  Colonel  Strong  interrupted  me  at  lunch  to  in- 


THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  327 

troduce  me  to  a  Miss  Curtis  from  Boston,  who  invited 
some  of  us  to  lunch  with  her  in  order  to  meet  some  of 
the  residents  of  Cannes.  We  accepted  and  met,  among 
others,  Lady  Waterlow,  an  American,  whose  husband  had 
been  Lord  Mayor  of  London.  This  acquaintance  resulted 
in  her  inviting  us  to  a  tea  at  her  home,  and  I  there  met 
the  Duchess  of  Vendome,  and  at  that  meeting  she  invited 
me  to  call  on  them  in  Paris,  as  her  husband  desired  to 
make  my  acquaintance. 

I  saw  the  Vendomes  several  times,  and  at  a  reception 
which  they  gave  the  guests  were  all  bewildered  as  to  when 
they  had  the  right  to  sit  down.  They  could  not  sit  if  any 
of  the  royalties  were  standing,  and  as  five  were  at  the 
reception,  it  was  quite  a  task  to  watch  until  all  were 
seated.  The  Duke  saw  my  embarrassment  and  took  me 
into  a  private  room,  which  no  other  royalty  was  apt  to 
invade,  and  we  sat  there  and  he  opened  his  heart  to  me. 
He  seemed  convinced  of  the  justice  of  the  new  order  of 
things,  and  thought  that  royalty  would  soon  be  a  lost 
profession.  He  was  extremely  anxious  to  be  permitted 
to  share  in  the  work  of  the  League  of  Nations,  and  asked 
me  to  arrange  for  him  an  opportunity  to  meet  Colonel 
House,  whom  he,  like  many  others  in  Paris  at  that  time, 
thought  would  be  the  chief  of  the  representatives  of  the 
United  States  in  the  League  of  Nations.  The  dinner 
was  arranged,  and  it  was  somewhat  amusing,  and  my 
democratic  spirit  smiled  at  the  spectacle  of  a  duke  and 
brother-in-law  of  one  of  the  few  remaining  kings  in 
Europe  acting  like  an  American  politician  and  wire-pull 
ing  for  an  opportunity  to  render  public  service. 

Still  more  striking  was  the  freer  manner  of  Vesnitz, 
the  gatherings  at  whose  house  were  thoroughly  cosmopoli 
tan.  He  had  been  Serbian  Minister  in  Paris,  and  now 
represented  there  the  new  Jugo-Slavia,  which  he  had 
helped  to  create.  Whereas  Bratianu  had  represented  only 


328  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

the  aristocracy,  Vesnitz  represented  all  the  Croats,  Serbs, 
and  Slovenes.  He  wanted  this  new  nation  to  be  self- 
supporting,  with  its  own  seaport  and  sufficient  hinterland. 
He,  too,  was  married  to  an  American,  and  thought  and 
talked  like  one.  He  spoke  perfect  English,  was  a  man  of 
much  learning,  and  his  country  suffered  a  great  loss  when 
he  died. 

Another  outstanding  Old- World  democrat  at  the  Peace 
Conference  was  Venizelos.  The  Greek  Premier  was 
anxious  to  impress  us  with  the  justice  of  his  country's 
claims,  and  through  Mr.  Politis,  his  Foreign  Minister,  and 
Dr.  Metaxa,  whom  I  had  known  in  New  York,  we  met 
soon  after  my  return  to  Paris. 

Born  in  the  Isle  of  Crete,  Venizelos  had  participated  in 
the  Revolution  that  freed  his  island  from  Turkey  and 
made  it  a  part  of  Greece.  He  started  the  Progressive 
movement  in  Greece,  and  became  the  leader  of  that  group 
which  prevented  King  Constantine  from  joining  with 
Germany  in  the  war.  Later,  despite  the  efforts  of  Queen 
Olga,  the  Kaiser's  sister,  this  forceful  lawyer  brought 
Greece  into  the  war  on  the  side  of  the  Allies. 

Because  of  his  charm  of  manner,  his  assertiveness,  and 
his  persuasive  powers,  he  accomplished  wonders  in  Paris. 
The  fact  that  he  spoke  English  was  a  great  help  to  him. 
It  was  a  common  saying  that  when  Venizelos  left  Colonel 
House's  room,  the  map-makers  were  sent  for  to  re-draw 
the  map.  He  asked  for  more  than  he  expected,  and  got 
it  nearly  all.  He  possessed  the  suavity  and  diplomatic 
skill  of  a  Benjamin  Franklin  and  the  constructive  states 
manship  of  an  Alexander  Hamilton.  He  had  a  firm  grip 
of  all  the  ramifications  and  complications  of  international 
affairs.  Nations,  no  matter  what  their  government  may 
be,  are  still  ungrateful.  Greece  eventually  preferred 
Constantine  to  Venizelos ! 

When  discussing  with  Henry  White  the  Greek  invasion 


THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  329 

of  Smyrna,  I  told  him  that  the  Greeks  were  making  a 
mistake  and  that  they  would  be  drawn  into  a  tedious 
struggle  with  the  Turks.  They  would  have  to  draw 
heavily  on  their  resources  and  on  their  people's  patience, 
which  would  be  severely  strained  if,  as  I  feared,  the  war 
lasted  for  years.  White  was  deeply  impressed. 

"I  want  you  to  tell  that  to  Venizelos,"  he  said. 

He  knew  everybody,  and  his  bringing  people  together 
was  not  the  least  of  his  services  to  our  Commission.  He 
invited  the  Greek  Premier  to  his  rooms  in  the  Crillon,  and 
there  I  repeated  my  opinion. 

I  told  him  in  great  detail  the  changes  that  had  taken 
place  in  Turkey  since  the  beginning  of  the  war,  and  de 
scribed  to  him  the  characters  of  the  men  that  were  now  in 
power.  I  also  explained  to  him  the  great  importance 
they  put  on  retaining  possession  of  the  Port  of  Smyrna, 
now  that  they  had  lost  most  of  their  other  ports  on  the 
Mediterranean.  I  felt  certain  that  they  would  draw  the 
Grecian  Army  back  into  their  hinterland,  and  away  from 
their  base  of  supplies,  and  then  would  continue  to  fight 
them  by  legitimate,  or  even  guerrilla,  methods,  until  they 
exhausted  them.  I  reminded  him  how  the  Turks  not  only 
forbade  their  own  people  to  employ  Greeks,  but  even  in 
sisted  that  the  American  firms  could  not  use  Grecian 
workmen  to  collect  the  licorice  root,  or  the  Singer  Manu 
facturing  Company  continue  to  have  Greeks  in  charge 
of  their  Turkish  agencies.  I  also  alluded  to  the  difficul 
ties  of  governing  Smyrna  from  Athens,  as  Constantinople 
would  divide  their  country,  and  the  cost  of  administration 
would  be  beyond  the  present  and  prospective  resources  of 
Greece,  and,  finally,  I  reminded  him  that  they  would 
antagonize  Italy  and  said:  "You  know  better  than  I  do 
what  that  means  for  Greece." 

Venizelos  listened  patiently  to  my  elaboration  of  this 
theme. 


330  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

"Perhaps  we  have  acted  too  hastily,"  he  said,  "and  if 
all  you  say  is  true,  it  may  have  been  unwise  for  us  to  send 
an  army  into  Smyrna,  but  now  that  the  army  is  there,  it 
would  be  more  unwise  to  withdraw  it — to  do  so  would 
admit  military,  and  court  political,  defeat.  The  Mon 
archists  are  plotting  constantly  against  me  in  Athens,  and 
they  are  backed  by  the  merchants  and  shipping  men  who 
are  over-ambitious  and  want  new  territory  for  their  opera 
tions." 

Venizelos  admitted  that  he  favoured  the  annexation  of 
Thrace  and  of  Smyrna  proper.  His  explanation  satis 
fied  me  that  it  was  pressure  from  Greek  financiers  that 
made  him  continue  to  enlarge  his  demands. 

My  meeting  with  the  subsequent  premier  of  France 
came  later.  Stephen  Lausanne,  editor  of  that  powerful 
journal,  Le  Matin,  asked  me  to  lunch  with  Bunau-Var- 
illa,  the  Matin's  owner,  a  power  in  French  politics.  I  was 
surprised  to  find  present  quite  a  number  of  people,  among 
whom  were  the  Belgian  financier,  Count  Aupin,  and  the 
heavily  moustached,  stoop-shouldered  man  that  headed  the 
French  delegation  to  the  Washington  Disarmament  Con 
ference.  We  discussed  the  future  attitude  of  the  United 
States  toward  France,  and,  when  the  party  was  breaking 
up,  Lausanne  detained  me. 

"Don't  go,"  he  said:  "Briand  wants  to  talk  with  you." 

Aristide  Briand,  who  had  five  times  been  Prime  Minister 
of  France,  was  then,  as  always,  at  the  head  of  a  strong 
political  faction.  Once  the  friend,  he  had  now  long  been 
the  rival  of  Clemenceau,  could  almost  at  any  moment  have 
overthrown  the  Clemenceau  Cabinet,  and  was  puzzling 
many  people  by  his  delay  in  executing  such  a  manoeuvre. 
What  he  wanted  of  me  was  information  concerning  a 
matter  that  directly  affected  this  situation. 

France's  financial  troubles  were  the  stumbling  block: 
The  country's  tax-payers  were  already  overburdened,  yet 


THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  331 

a  larger  revenue  must  be  raised.  Briand  and  his  friends 
felt  that  the  man  who,  as  Premier,  attempted  to  set  those 
troubles  right,  and  who  failed  in  the  difficult  endeavour, 
would  not  remain  Premier  for  long.  They  considered  leav 
ing  the  ungrateful  job  to  Clemenceau,  unless  they  could 
put  through  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  their  brilliant  idea. 

They  wanted  to  pay  off  the  French  war  debt  by  means 
of  a  lottery  loan.  There  would  be  daily  prizes.  They 
contemplated  one  as  high  as  a  million  francs.  And  they 
expected  to  sell  a  large  proportion  of  the  tickets  in 
America! 

What,  they  asked,  did  I  think  of  the  plan? 

"Gentlemen,"  I  said,  "you  are  evidently  unaware  that 
there  is  a  law  against  lotteries  in  the  United  States." 

"But  this  lottery,"  said  Briand,  "would  be  in  France;  we 
would  merely  sell  tickets  in  America  through  the  mails." 

"It  was  precisely  by  forbidding  the  use  of  the  mails  for 
such  purposes,"  I  explained,  "that  we  stopped  lotteries. 
It  is  a  criminal  offence  to  sell  lottery-tickets  in  the  United 
States  or  to  use  our  mails  for  that  purpose." 

I  shall  never  forget  the  expression  of  disappointment 
with  which  Briand  and  Count  Aupin  greeted  this  an 
nouncement.  It  meant  that  their  scheme  must  be  aban 
doned  and  that  Briand  must  still  longer  postpone  the 
overthrow  of  Clemenceau. 

Much  of  what  was  passing  behind  the  scenes  at  the 
Conference  it  would  not  be  proper  for  me  to  tell.  Part 
of  that  is  the  story  of  "The  Passing  of  the  Third-Floor 
Front,"  when  the  meetings  of  the  American  Commis 
sioners  were  transferred  from  Colonel  House's  room  on 
the  third  floor  of  the  Crillon  to  Secretary  Lansing's  rooms 
on  the  first  floor.  But  there  is  an  anecdote  that  I  do 
venture  to  repeat  because  it  throws  a  light  on  the  char 
acter  and  careful  methods  of  Lloyd  George. 

Even  the  British  Premier  was  keen  to  gain  favour  with 


332  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

those  close  to  President  Wilson,  and  one  night  he  invited 
to  dine  with  him  Admiral  Gary  T.  Gray  son,  whom  he 
knew  to  be  not  only  Mr.  Wilson's  physician,  but  one  of 
his  personal  confidants  as  well.  Now,  Grayson  was  a 
Southerner  of  the  Southerners;  he  was  born  in  Virginia's 
Culpepper  County,  and  studied  at  William  and  Mary 
College.  Consequently,  he  pricked  up  his  ears  when 
Lloyd  George's  entire  table  conversation  confined  itself 
to  that  America  which  lies  south  of  Mason-and-Dixon's 
line.  The  Premier  showed  himself  specially  familiar 
with  the  career  of  Stonewall  Jackson,  for  whom  he  pro 
fessed  a  warm  admiration.  Finally,  the  dinner  ended, 
Mr.  Lloyd  George's  niece  went  to  the  piano,  and  sang — 
American  Southern  melodies ! 

This  was  too  much  for  Grayson. 

"How  is  it,"  he  said,  "that  you  all  have  such  an  intimate 
knowledge  of  my  part  of  America?" 

Perhaps  this  direct  query  took  the  Premier  by  surprise. 
Anyhow,  he  confessed: 

"Well,  you  see  I  have  just  finished  reading  Hender 
son's  'Life  of  Stonewall  Jackson.'  " 

Grayson's  response  was  in  the  good  old  American 
fashion : 

"My  dear  sir,  no  matter  what  office  you  run  for,  you'll 
have  my  vote!" 

There  was  one  interlude  to  my  activities  in  Paris  that 
should  be  mentioned  if  only  for  the  sake  of  the  stir  it 
created  back  home.  This  was  my  speech  at  Coblenz, 
when  I  told  the  American  soldiers  there  that  another  war 
impended. 

It  was  in  May  of  1919  that  we  took  a  trip  to  the  oc 
cupied  territory  and  visited  Coblenz,  Cologne,  and  Wies 
baden.  I  remember  that  we  were  at  first  much  impressed 
by  the  unbending  dignity  of  the  young  captain  who  was 
our  escort  until,  one  day,  we  stopped  at  Treves  for  lunch. 


THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  333 

We  had  just  seated  ourselves  when  a  woman's  voice  called 
out: 

"Why,  hello  Pinky!" 

We  all  turned  round,  but  the  Captain  jumped.  He 
had  red  hair,  and  the  woman  who  greeted  him  by  the  nick 
name  that  his  hair  had  won  him  before  he  achieved  his 
military  dignity  was  Peggy  Shaw,  of  New  York,  who 
soon  showed  us  her  soldiers'  theatre  and  rest-room  in  a 
barn  where  she  served  lemonade  out  of  buckets  to  the 
Army  of  Occupation.  Thenceforward,  the  Captain  was 
"Pinky"  to  us  all. 

At  Coblenz  we  were  billeted  at  the  house  of  Von  Grotte, 
the  German  president  of  the  Rhineland  provinces,  and 
when  I  woke  that  first  morning  I  could  not  help  thinking 
of  the  changes  that  had  taken  place  in  my  life  between 
my  birth  at  Mannheim  in  1856  and  this  day  at  Coblenz 
in  1919.  Soon  I  was  seated  in  the  Coblenzer-Hof  par 
taking  of  a  good  American  breakfast  of  oatmeal,  eggs, 
bacon,  wheat-cakes  and  molasses,  and  no  doubt  a  better 
meal  than  any  German  had  that  day,  and  looking  at  "Old 
Glory"  afloat  over  Ehrenbreitstein.  How  full  historic 
ally  the  interim  had  been!  How  strange  to  see  the  Amer 
ican  flag  above  this  fortress  on  the  Rhine,  while,  below, 
a  bronze  statue  of  William  I  looked  on  in  woeful  con 
templation  of  the  wreckage  to  his  Empire  that  his  grand 
son  had  wrought. 

Anxious  to  learn  the  true  state  of  mind  of  the  German 
people,  I  asked  an  American  Military  Intelligence  officer 
to  arrange  for  me  to  talk  with  some  of  the  leading  citizens 
of  Coblenz.  He  did  so  at  the  home  of  the  best  known 
lawyer  of  the  city,  where,  besides  our  host,  were  a  promi 
nent  doctor,  the  largest  local  paper  manufacturer,  an  ex 
port  merchant,  and  several  others. 

It  took  a  couple  of  bottles  of  Rhine  wine  to  loosen  their 
tongues.  Finally,  one  said; 


334  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

"Here  we  are  in  the  afternoon  of  life,  each  of  us  a  leader 
in  his  calling.  We  all  had  accumulated  a  competency 
when  the  war  came  but  some  20  per  cent,  of  this  has 
been  taken  in  taxes,  and  the  remainder  is  to-day  worth 
scarcely  one  fifth  of  its  original  value.  [A  mark  was 
then  worth  about  five  cents.]  We  have  scarcely  one  sixth 
of  what  we  formerly  possessed  in  actual  wealth.  Instead 
of  yielding  us  a  sufficient  annual  income  on  which  to  live, 
our  principal  now  amounts  to  only  three  years'  normal 


income." 


They  all  said  that  their  business  prospects  were  at  an 
end. 

"But  surely  your  profession  goes  right  on,"  I  protested 
to  the  physician. 

"I  am  as  badly  off  as  the  others,"  he  answered,  "three 
of  these  men  are  my  best  and  oldest  patients:  how  can  I 
charge  them  any  more  than  I  did  before  the  war?  More 
over,  many  of  my  patients  I  can't  charge  anything  at  all." 

As  one  of  the  company  expressed  it,  they  felt  that 
France  wanted  to  turn  them  into  galley-slaves:  "She  has 
put  us  into  the  hold  of  a  ship;  the  hatches  are  battened 
down,  and  on  them  are  sitting  a  lot  of  politicians  from 
Paris  to  make  sure  that  we  never  get  out." 

The  manufacturers  said  that  the  young  men  of  ability 
and  energy  would  not  submit  to  "such  slavery."  They 
would  seek  other  fields  of  activity,  and  eventually  drift  to 
a  country  like  Russia,  where  skilled  managers  and  intel 
ligence  were  at  a  premium. 

All  the  Coblenzers  present  maintained  the  belief  that 
the  war  had  been  forced  upon  their  country  by  the  French 
and  the  Russians  combining  to  crush  them.  I  could  not 
convince  them  that  their  own  war-lords  had  brought  about 
the  catastrophe,  and  that  the  German  people,  including 
even  their  socialists,  were  responsible  because  their  repre 
sentatives  in  Parliament  voted  for  the  war-credits.  They 


THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  335 

had  been  told  that  this  was  a  war  of  self-defense,  and  they 
believed  it.  Now  that  the  autocrats  and  junkers  had  been 
overthrown,  they  thought  that  the  people  should  not  be 
held  responsible  for  the  mistakes  of  the  militarists.  They 
felt  that  Germany  should  be  permitted  to  enter  the  family 
of  nations  and  given  a  chance  to  recover  and  pay  her  debts. 

A  few  days  later,  I  gave  a  talk  to  the  American  soldiers 
in  the  Liberty  Hut  at  Coblenz,  to  which  reference  has 
been  made. 

"At  present,"  I  said,  "we  are  enjoying  only  a  suspension 
of  hostilities.  Please  don't  go  home  and  tell  the  people 
that  this  war  is  over.  We  have  got  to  prepare  for  a 
greater  conflict,  a  greater  sacrifice,  a  greater  responsibility. 
The  young  men  of  America  will  again  have  to  fight.  The 
manifold  and  conflicting  demands  of  all  nations  at  the 
Peace  Conference  are  impossible  of  fulfillment.  Many 
delegates  to  the  Conference  will  leave  Paris  with  their  de 
mands  unsatisfied.  The  nations  are  going  to  have  further 
quarrels  and  disputes.  I  believe  that  within  fifteen  years 
America  will  be  called  upon  really  to  save  the  world." 

"The  battle  between  democracy  and  anarchy,"  I  argued, 
"will  continue  and  will  result  in  the  bankruptcy  of  the 
participating  nations.  It  is  necessary  for  the  United 
States  to  prepare,  so  that  when  a  crisis  comes,  we  shall  be 
able  to  create  a  cooperative  spirit  between  our  capital  and 
labour,  and  thus  be  so  united  and  so  strong  that  we  can 
save  civilization  from  annihilation." 

Cabled  home,  these  words  attracted  some  attention,  yet 
the  views  that  they  expressed  were  not  based  entirely 
upon  my  own  observations.  I  had  talked  with  General 
Bliss,  the  military  member  of  our  Peace  Commission,  and 
with  other  American  officers  of  high  rank :  they  held  opin 
ions  similar  to  mine. 

Bliss,  on  several  occasions,  told  me  that  he  thought  we 
had  just  ended  the  first  seven  years  of  another  Thirty 


336  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

Years'  War  which  had  begun  with  the  Balkan  conflict  of 
1912. 

Was  he  right?  The  answer  rests  hidden  in  the  years 
immediately  ahead  of  us. 

Whatever  that  answer  may  be,  I  saw  the  signing  of 
the  Peace  Treaty  intended  to  end  the  latest  war.  Gen 
eral  Pershing  and  I  sat  next  to  each  other,  and  I  dis 
cussed  these  very  matters  with  him  at  Versailles  on  that 
momentous  28th  of  June.  The  affixing  of  the  signatures 
was  not  an  impressive  spectacle.  There  was  no  enthus 
iasm,  and  but  little  excitement.  People  moved  about  and 
chatted  in  subdued  voices.  Mrs.  Wilson,  Mrs.  Lansing, 
and  Colonel  House  sat  in  the  row  next  to  me,  and  I  talked 
to  Clemenceau,  Lloyd  George,  and  Presidents  Poincare 
and  Wilson.  The  only  solemn  moment  was  that  when 
the  Germans  walked  to  the  table;  they  betrayed  mental 
suffering,  and  one  of  them  showed  the  results  of  physical 
hardship:  his  clothes  hung  on  him  so  loosely  that  it  was 
apparent  he  must  have  lost  quite  forty  pounds  since  they 
were  made.  After  the  signatures  had  been  affixed,  we 
all  walked  up  to  the  Treaty  and  looked  at  it,  like  mourners 
taking  farewell  of  a  corpse — but  we  were  mourners  with 
out  tears. 

That  night  the  negotiations  for  the  appointment  of  the 
memorable  Harbord  Commission  to  Armenia  were  con 
cluded.  In  these  I  had  played  a  considerable  part;  their 
termination  marked  the  end  of  my  semi-official  activities 
before  embarking  on  my  Polish  expedition. 

Passing  mention  has  been  made  of  the  arduous  study 
of  the  Turkish  question,  which  our  Commissioners  had 
asked  me  to  undertake  jointly  with  W.  H.  Buckler.  This 
task  brought  me  again  into  contact  with  Mr.  Hoover,  be 
cause  of  the  relief  work  of  his  Commission  in  Armenia, 
and,  besides  renewing  my  pleasant  relations  with  Sir 
Louis  Mallet,  who  had  been  the  British  Ambassador  to 


THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  337 

Constantinople  while  I  was  there,  it  involved,  among  a 
mass  of  other  details,  many  interviews  with  the  Armenian 
and  French  representatives  and  the  spokesmen  of  the 
other  interested  parties.  The  French  were  determined 
to  have  Cilicia;  the  Armenians  would  not  consider  my 
advice  that  they  should  surrender  it,  and,  by  this  conces 
sion,  win  French  support  for  their  other  ambitions. 
Buckler,  Professor  Philip  M.  Brown,  and  I  made  a  re 
port1  to  President  Wilson,  recommending  a  triple  man 
date  :  one  to  cover  Armenia,  another  Anatolia,  and  a  third 
the  Constantinople  district,  where  the  chief  administrator- 
would  reside,  with  an  administrator  in  each  of  the  other 
territories ;  we  expressed  the  opinion  that  there  should  be 
an  Armenian  parliament  in  Armenia  and  a  Turkish  parlia 
ment  in  Anatolia,  with  the  probable  Turkish  capital  at 
Konia.  Thus  we  would  banish  the  Turk  from  Europe 
and  limit  him  to  Anatolia,  where,  however,  he  would  be 
permitted  to  govern  himself.  The  triple  mandate,  we  rec 
ommended,  should  be  assumed  by  the  United  States. 

Our  report  was  submitted  in  the  latter  part  of  June. 
Nevertheless,  the  conflicting  claims  of  the  French  and  the 
Armenians  and  the  woeful  conditions  of  the  districts  in 
volved,  left  something  more  to  be  done.  I  favoured  the 
appointment  of  an  American  Army  officer  to  go  to  Ar 
menia  as  Commissioner  for  the  Allied  and  Associated 
Nations,  and  to  protect  the  Armenians.  I  had  a  high 
regard  for  the  ability  of  Major-General  Harbord,  Gen 
eral  Pershing's  Chief -of -Staff,  and  thought  him  exactly 
the  man  for  such  a  post ;  but  I  was  told  that  he  was  not  in 
Paris,  and  nobody  seemed  to  know  just  where  he  was  or 
when  he  would  return. 

At  the  last  moment,  fate  played  into  my  hands.  On 
Tuesday,  June  24th,  I  went  to  a  dinner  given  by  Homer 
H.  Johnson  to  Assistant  Secretary  of  War  Benedict 

1  See  Appendix  No.  3,  which  contains  this  report. 


338  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

Crowell,  and  found  General  Harbord  there.  To  my  great 
satisfaction  I  was  seated  next  to  him.  This  gave  us 
several  hours  to  discuss  the  Armenian  question,  and  I 
urged  him  to  undertake  the  task.  Next  morning  he  sent 
me  a  remarkable  letter,  which  showed  his  masterly  grasp 
of  the  situation,  but  ended  with  the  statement  that  he 
would  not  care  to  accept  the  Commissionership  unless  he 
could  have  a  proper  military  staff  to  aid  him. 

On  Thursday,  I  had  an  appointment  with  the  President 
to  discuss  the  Polish  Mission.  We  disposed  of  this  very 
quickly,  as  I  shall  tell  later  on.  I  then  seized  upon  the 
remaining  minutes  allotted  me  to  present  to  the  Presi 
dent  our  proposal  of  a  Commission  to  Armenia.  The 
President  was  profoundly  interested  and  told  me  that  he 
had  but  little  time  left  to  do  anything  in  the  matter,  as  the 
Peace  Treaty  was  to  be  signed  on  Saturday.  And  he 
added: 

"As  you  probably  know,  I  shall  sail  for  home  that  even 
ing,  but  if  you  can  come  to  an  agreement  with  Hoover 
and  let  me  have  what  you  two  recommend  by  nine  o'clock 
to-morrow  morning,  I  will  try  to  put  it  through." 

I  went  straight  to  Hoover's  office  from  my  interview 
and  we  drafted  a  letter  to  the  President  containing  the 
following  joint  recommendations  to  be  brought  by  him  to 
the  attention  of  the  Big  Four  before  his  departure : 

1.  We   suggest   that   a   single   temporary   resident    Commissioner 
should  be  appointed  to  Armenia,  who  will  have  the  full  authority  of 
the  United  States,  Great  Britain,  France,  and  Italy  in  all  their  re 
lations  to  the  de  facto  Armenian  Government,  as  the  joint  representa 
tive  of  these  Governments  in  Armenia.     His  duties  shall  be  so  far  as 
he  may   consider   necessary   to    supervise   and   advise   upon   various 
governmental  matters  in  the  whole  of  Russian  and  Turkish  Armenia, 
and  to  control  relief  and  repatriation  questions  pending  the  determi 
nation  of  the  political  destiny  of  this  area. 

2.  In  case  the  various   Governments   should   agree   to  this   plan, 
immediate  notification  should  be  made  to  the  de  facto  Governments 


THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  339 

of  Turkey  and  of  Armenia  of  his  appointment  and  authority.  Further 
more,  he  will  be  appointed  to  represent  the  American  Relief  Admin 
istration  and  the  American  Committee  for  Relief  in  the  Near  East, 
and  take  entire  charge  of  all  their  activities  in  Russian  and  Turkish 
Armenia. 

The  ideal  man  for  this  position  would  be  General  Harbord,  as  we 
assume  under  all  the  circumstances  it  would  probably  be  desirable  to 
appoint  an  American.  Should  General  Harbord  be  unable  to  under 
take  the  matter,  we  are  wondering  whether  you  would  leave  it  to  us  to 
select  the  man  in  conjunction  with  General  Pershing. 


Two  days  later,  the  President  sailed  for  America.  As 
he  was  taking  the  Brest  train  from  Paris,  he  turned  to 
Harbord,  who  had  come  to  the  station: 

"We  have  passed  that  matter  about  you,"  he  said. 

What  matter  he  referred  to,  Harbord  could  not  guess. 
There  was  no  time  to  inquire  of  Mr.  Wilson,  and  the 
General  being  wholly  in  the  dark,  did  not  think  of  inquir 
ing  of  me.  For  some  days,  I  was  to  remain  in  ignorance. 

On  June  30th,  though  it  was  dated  "June  28th,"  there 
arrived  at  the  American  Peace  Commission's  head 
quarters  a  cable  addressed  to  Mr.  Wilson — now  at  sea — 
which,  in  the  light  of  future  events,  bore  signatures  that 
appear  rather  startling  in  such  a  connection.  How  differ 
ently  people  act  when  seeking  power  than  they  do  when 
in  authority!  The  message  called  "immediate"  relief  for 
Armenia  "a  sacred  duty"  and  urged  upon  Woodrow 
Wilson: 


That  as  a  first  step  in  that  direction,  and  without  waiting  for  the 
conclusion  of  peace,  either  the  Allies,  or  America,  or  both,  should  at 
once  send  to  Caucasus-Armenia  requisite  food,  munitions  and  supplies 
for  fifty  thousand  men  and  such  other  help  as  they  may  require  to 
enable  the  Armenians  to  occupy  the  now-occupied  parts  of  Armenia 
within  the  boundaries  defined  in  the  memorandum  of  the  delegation 
of  integral  Armenia. 


340  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

The  first  three  signatures  were  those  of  Charles  Evans 
Hughes,  Elihu  Root,  and  Henry  Cabot  Lodge!  The 
next  was  John  Sharp  Williams.  How  strange  it  would 
be  if  Oscar  Underwood  had  been  asked  and  had  signed  in 
his  place.  We  would  then  have  had  all  four  American 
delegates  to  the  Disarmament  Conference. 

Mr.  Hoover  called  on  me  with  a  copy  of  this  message  in 
his  hands.  He  said  that  Lansing,  House,  and  White 
wanted  us  to  draft  a  reply  to  it. 

In  the  composition  of  that  reply,  Hoover's  opinions  as 
to  details  again  diverged  from  mine.  He  continued  in 
his  antagonism  to  an  American  Regular  Army  officer 
on  the  active  list,  as  an  administrator  of  Caucasus  relief- 
work  and  evinced  firm  opposition  to  America  taking  a 
mandate.  He  argued  good-temperedly,  but  strongly,  to 
win  me  to  his  point  of  view;  I  was  not  convinced,  and  we 
at  last  reached  another  compromise,  settling  on  such  state 
ments  as  we  could  both  subscribe  to.  The  reply  was 
dated  July  2nd,  and  was  in  part : 

Active  relief  work  on  a  large  scale  is  now  in  progress  in  the  most 
distressed  areas  of  Armenia,  but  will  require  much  enlarged  support, 
in  view  of  the  expiration  of  Congressional  appropriations.  .  .  . 
Competent  observers  report  that  immediate  training  and  equipment 
of  adequate  Armenian  forces  would  be  impracticable  and  that  the 
repatriation  of  refugees  is  feasible  only  under  protection  of  British 
or  American  troops.  British  authorities  inform  us  that  they  cannot 
spare  troops  for  this  purpose.  .  .  .  All  military  advisers  agree 
that  the  Armenian  population  itself,  even  if  furnished  arms  and  sup 
plies,  will  be  unable  to  overcome  Turkish  opposition  and  surrounding 
pressure.  .  .  .  To  secure  .  .  .  establishment  and  protection 
and  undertake  the  economic  development  of  the  state,  such  man 
datory  must,  until  it  becomes  self-supporting,  provide  not  less  than 
$300,000,000.  It  would  have  to  be  looked  upon  as  a  sheer  effort  to 
ease  humanity. 

At  about  this  point,  Hoover's  opposition  to  America 
assuming  a  mandate  manifests  itself  in  the  message.  We 


THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  341 

agreed  that  he  should  add  a  few  lines,  expressly  and  ex 
plicitly  on  his  own  responsibility.  So  the  message,  after 
the  joint  signature  of  "Hoover-Morgenthau,"  continued: 


Mr.  Hoover  wishes  to  add  on  his  sole  responsibility  that  he  con 
siders  that  the  only  practicable  method  by  which  a  government  in 
this  region  could  be  made  economically  self-supporting  would  be  to 
embrace  in  the  same  mandatory  the  area  of  Mesopotamia  where  there 
are  very  large  possibilities  of  economic  development,  where  there 
would  be  an  outlet  for  the  commercial  abilities  of  the  Armenians,  and 
with  such  an  enlarged  area  it  could  be  hoped  in  a  few  years  to  build 
up  a  State  self-supporting,  although  the  intervention  of  some  dominant 
foreign  race  must  be  continued  until  the  entire  population  could  be 
educated  to  a  different  basis  of  moral  relations,  and  that  consequently 
whatever  State  is  assigned  the  mandatory  for  Mesopotamia  should  at 
the  same  time  take  up  the  burden  of  Armenia. 

When  that  portion  of  the  message  was  suggested,  I 
said  to  Mr.  Hoover: 

"The  inclusion  of  Mesopotamia  in  the  proposition  would 
absolutely  destroy  all  chances  of  America  taking  the 
mandate." 

"Well,"  said  Hoover,  "I  wouldn't  object  if  that  was 
the  effect  of  it." 

The  "effect"  has  now  long  since  passed  into  history. 

Mandate  or  no  mandate,  the  matter  of  a  commission 
to  Armenia  suffered  no  retarding  except  in  the  detail  of 
personnel.  I  was  still  in  the  dark  about  what  President 
Wilson  had  done  regarding  it,  but  an  odd  chance  soon 
enlightened  me. 

It  was  after  one  o'clock  when  I  rushed  from  Hoover's 
office  to  23  Rue  Minot  to  attend  a  luncheon  given  by  the 
Hon.  Arthur  J.  Balfour.  At  the  table  were  Lord 
d'Abernon  who,  as  Sir  Edgar  Vincent,  had  been  manager 
of  the  Imperial  Ottoman  Bank  at  Constantinople,  and 
now  is  British  Ambassador  in  Berlin:  Sir  Maurice 


342  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

Hankey  and  his  wife;  and  Mr.  Balfour's  niece.  We  at 
once  plunged  into  a  discussion  of  Turkish  affairs.  Mr. 
Balf our  said  he  favoured  the  United  States  taking  a  man 
date  over  the  Constantinople  district  and  Armenia,  but 
not  over  Anatolia.  A  general  discussion  of  the  economic 
difficulties  followed,  and  I  outlined  the  plan  of  a  triple 
mandate  that  I  had  submitted  to  the  President,  and  went 
so  far  as  to  hope  that  it  might  lead  to  a  Balkan  federation. 
Then,  to  our  great  surprise,  Sir  Maurice  turned  to  Mr. 
Balf  our : 

"Why,  Mr.  Balfour,"  he  said,  "don't  you  know  that  the 
Hoover-Morgenthau  plan  for  a  resident  commission  in 
the  Caucasus  was  acted  upon  by  the  Big  Four  on  Satur 
day  at  Versailles  just  after  the  signing  of  the  Peace 
Treaty?  They  passed  it  in  principle  and  referred  it  to 
you  to  work  out  the  details.  It  is  on  your  desk  now  on 
top  of  that  pile  of  papers  with  a  red  slip  on  it." 

We  now  beheld  Balfour  in  one  of  his  well-known  atti 
tudes,  when  he  slightly  raises  his  eyebrows,  drops  his  right 
shoulder,  and  looks  at  you  with  a  smile  that  almost  talks. 
He  then  said  to  me:  "You  see  how  Lloyd  George  does 
things.  This  information  that  Hankey  has  given  us  is 
absolutely  as  new  to  me  as  it  is  to  you." 

Sir  Maurice  offered  to  stay  over  and  help  Balfour  ar 
range  the  details.  The  latter  said  that  it  would  not  be 
necessary,  but  asked  me  to  request  Mr.  Lansing  to  do 
his  part  toward  putting  the  affair  into  shape. 

Harbord  was  still  unwilling  to  go  without  the  assistance 
of  a  military  staff,  for  which  he  had  originally  stipulated. 
President  Wilson  had  left  word  that  in  such  an  event, 
Hoover  and  I  were  to  name  a  substitute.  Hoover  sug 
gested  Colonel  William  N.  Haskell,  who  had  represented 
the  American  Relief  Commission  in  Roumania;  and  as 
Haskell  was  to  also  represent  the  Near  East  Relief,  of 
which  I  was  then  vice-chairman,  I  assented  to  his  selection 


THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  343 

in  both  capacities,  and  Haskell  set  out  for  Armenia 
shortly  thereafter. 

That  appointment,  I  felt,  would  help  to  take  care  of 
the  relief  phase  of  the  situation,  but  there  was  left  the 
need  of  a  report  of  a  strictly  army  man  on  the  military 
side  of  the  Armenian  matter  before  the  question  of  Amer 
ica  assuming  the  proposed  mandate  could  be  thoroughly 
answered.  Harbord  was,  therefore,  doubly  welcome  when, 
within  a  few  days,  he  came  to  me  with  a  suggestion: 

"Don't  you  think,"  he  asked,  "it  would  be  advisable 
that  either  Pershing  or  myself,  or  both,  be  sent  to 
investigate  and  report  on  the  conditions  in  the  Trans- 
Caucasus,  because  the  question  of  an  American  manda 
tory  in  Turkey  promises  almost  immediately  to  become 
urgent,  and  we  should  know  military  conditions  there 
before  the  Government  acts  in  the  matter." 

As  this  completely  coincided  with  my  views,  I  immed 
iately  consulted  Hoover,  and  we  jointly  sent  a  wireless  to 
President  Wilson,  which  elicited  a  prompt  approval  of 
the  idea,  and  the  order  that  it  be  left  to  Pershing  to  decide 
who  should  make  the  trip. 

The  Harbord  Mission  and  its  very  able  report  on  Ar 
menia  resulted.  Complete  impartiality,  and  a  total  lack 
of  prejudice,  were  shown  by  the  manner  in  which  he  ended 
his  report.  He  stated  thirteen  reasons  for  the  United 
States  adopting  a  mandate  and  thirteen  reasons  against 
it,  and  they  were  placed  in  parallel  columns,  so  that  every 
one  who  read  them  could  come  to  his  own  conclusions,  and 
with  General  Harbord's  permission  I  am  including  them 
here. 

Reasons  For  Reasons  Against 

1.  As  one  of  the  chief  contrib-  1.  The  United  States  has  prior 
utors  to  the  formation  of  the  and  nearer  foreign  obligations, 
League  of  Nations,  the  United  and  ample  responsibilities  with 


344 


ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 


Reasons  For 

States  is  morally  bound  to  accept 
the  obligations  and  responsibil 
ities  of  a  mandatory  power. 

2.  The  insurance  of  world 
peace  at  the  world's  cross-ways, 
the  focus  of  war  infection  since 
the  beginning  of  history. 


3.  The  Near  East  presents  the 
greatest   humanitarian   opportun 
ity  of  the  age — a  duty  for  which 
the  United  States  is  better  fitted 
than  any  other — as  witness  Cuba, 
Porto  Rico,  Philippines,  Hawaii, 
Panama,  and  our  altruistic  policy 
of  developing  peoples  rather  than 
material  resources  alone. 

4.  America    is    practically   the 
unanimous     choice     and     fervent 
hope  of  all  the  peoples  involved. 


5.  America  is  already  spend 
ing  millions  to  save  starving  peo 
ples  in  Turkey  and  Transcau 
casia  and  could  do  this  with  much 


Reasons  Against 

domestic    problems    growing    out 
of  the  war. 

2.  This  region  has  been  a  bat 
tle  ground  of  militarism  and  im 
perialism    for    centuries.      There 
is  every  likelihood  that  ambitious 
nations    will    still    maneuver    for 
its  control.     It  would  weaken  our 
position   relative   to   the   Monroe 
Doctrine  and  probably  eventually 
involve   us    with   a    reconstituted 
Russia.      The   taking  of   a  man 
date  in  this   region  would  bring 
the  United  States  into  politics  of 
the  Old  World,  contrary  to  our 
traditional  policy  of  keeping  free 
of  affairs  in  the  Eastern  Hemis 
phere. 

3.  Humanitarianism  should  be 
gin  at  home.     There  is  a  sufficient 
number     of     difficult     situations 
which  call  for  our  action  within 
the    well-recognized    spheres    of 
American  influence. 


4.  The  United  States  has  in  no 
way  contributed  to  and  is  not  re 
sponsible  for  the  conditions,  polit 
ical,    social,    or    economic,    that 
prevail  in  this  region.     It  will  be 
entirely  consistent  to  decline  the 
invitation. 

5.  American  philanthropy  and 
charity   are   world   wide.        Such 
policy  would  commit  us  to  a  pol 
icy    of   meddling   or   draw   upon 


THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE 


345 


Reasons  For 

more  efficiency  if  in  control. 
Whoever  becomes  mandatory  for 
these  regions  we  shall  be  still  ex 
pected  to  finance  their  relief,  and 
will  probably  eventually  furnish 
the  capital  for  material  develop 
ment. 

6.  America  is  the  only  hope  of 
the   Armenians.      They   consider 
but     one     other     nation,     Great 
Britain,   which   they   fear   would 
sacrifice  their  interests  to  Moslem 
public  opinion  as  long  as  she  con 
trols  hundreds  of  millions  of  that 
faith.     Others  fear  Britain's  im 
perialistic   policy   and   her   habit 
of  staying  where  she  hoists  her 
flag. 

For  a  mandatory  America  is 
not  only  the  first  choice  of  all  the 
peoples  of  the  Near  East,  but  of 
each  of  the  great  powers,  after 
itself. 

American  power  is  adequate; 
its  record  clean ;  its  motives  above 
suspicion. 

7.  The    mandatory    would    be 
self-supporting    after    an    initial 
period  of  not  to  exceed  five  years. 
The  building  of  railroads  would 
offer  opportunities  to  our  capital. 
There  would  be  great  trade  ad 
vantages  not  only  in  the  manda 
tory  region,  but  in  the  proximity 
to  Russia,  Roumania,  etc. 

America  would  clean  this  hot 
bed  of  disease  and  filth  as  she 
has  in  Cuba  and  Panama. 


Reasons  Against 

our  philanthropy  to  the  point  of 
exhaustion. 


6.  Other    powers,    particularly 
Great   Britain  and  Russia,  have 
shown  continued  interest  in  the 
welfare  of  Armenia.     Great  Bri 
tain  is  fitted  by  experience  and 
government,  has  great   resources 
in  money  and  trained  personnel, 
and  though  she  might  not  be  as 
sympathetic  to  Armenian  aspira 
tions,  her  rule  would  guarantee 
security  and  justice. 

The  United  States  is  not  cap 
able  of  sustaining  a  continuity  of 
foreign  policy.  One  Congress 
can  not  bind  another.  Even 
treaties  can  be  nullified  by  cut 
ting  off  appropriations.  Non- 
partisanship  is  difficult  to  attain 
in  our  Government. 

7.  Our  country  would  be  put  to 
great  expense,  involving  probably 
an    increase    of    the    Army    and 
Navy.    Large  numbers  of  Amer 
icans  would  serve  in  a  country  of 
loathsome     and     dangerous     dis 
eases.     It  is  questionable  if  rail 
roads  could  for  many  years  pay 
interest  on   investments   in  their 
very  difficult  construction.     Cap 
ital    for   railways   would   not   go 
there     except     on     Government 
guaranty. 


346 


ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 


Reasons  For 


8.  Intervention  would  be  a  lib 
eral  education  for  our  people  in 
world  politics;  give  outlet  to  a 
vast  amount  of  spirit  and  energy 
and  would  furnish  a  shining  ex 
ample. 


9.  It  would  definitely  stop  fur 
ther  massacres  of  Armenians  and 
other   Christians,  give  justice  to 
the    Turks,    Kurds,    Greeks    and 
other  peoples. 

10.  It     would     increase     the 
strength     and    prestige    of    the 
United  States  abroad  and  inspire 
interest  at  home  in  the  regenera 
tion  of  the  Near  East. 


Reasons  Against 

The  effort  and  money  spent 
would  get  us  more  trade  in  nearer 
lands  than  we  could  hope  for  in 
Russia  and  Roumania. 

Proximity  and  competition 
would  increase  the  possibility  of 
our  becoming  involved  in  conflict 
with  the  policies  and  ambitions 
of  states  which  now  our  friends 
would  be  made  our  rivals. 

8.  Our  spirit   and   energy  can 
find  scope  in  domestic  enterprises, 
or   in   lands    south    and   west   of 
ours.      Intervention  in  the   Near 
East  would  rob  us  of  the  strategic 
advantage    enjoyed    through    the 
Atlantic  which   rolls  between  us 
and  probable  foes.     Our  reputa 
tion  for  fair  dealing  might  be  im 
paired.      Efficient   supervision  of 
a  mandate  at  such  distance  would 
be  difficult  or  impossible.    We  do 
not  need  or  wish  further  educa 
tion  in  world  politics. 

9.  Peace  and  justice  would  be 
equally  assured  under  any  other 
of  the  great  powers. 


10.  It  would  weaken  and  dis 
sipate  our  strength  which  should 
be  reserved  for  future  responsi 
bilities  on  the  American  conti 
nents  and  in  the  Far  East.  Our 
line  of  communication  to  Con 
stantinople  would  be  at  the 
mercy  of  other  naval  powers,  and 
especially  of  Great  Britain,  with 
Gibraltar  and  Malta,  etc.,  on  the 
route. 


THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE 


347 


Reasons  For 

11.  America  has  strong  senti 
mental  interests  in  the  region; 
our  missions  and  colleges. 


12.  If  the  United  States  does 
not  take  responsibility  in  this 
region,  it  is  likely  that  interna 
tional  jealousies  will  result  in  a 
continuance  of  the  unspeakable 
misrule  of  the  Turk. 


13.  "And  the  Lord  said  unto 
Cain,  Where  is  Abel,  thy  brother  ? 
And  he  said :  '  I  know  not ;  am  I 
my  brother's  keeper?*" 

Better  millions  for  a  mandate 
than  billions  for  future  wars. 


Reasons  Against 

11.  These      institutions      have 
been  respected  even  by  the  Turks 
throughout  the  war  and  the  mas- 
sacres ;  and  sympathy  and  respect 
would   be    shown   by   any   other 
mandatory. 

12.  The  Peace  Conference  has 
definitely    informed   the   Turkish 
Government   that   it  may   expect 
to   go   under   a   mandate.      It   is 
not  conceivable  that  the  League 
of  Nations  would  permit  further 
uncontrolled   rule   by   that   thor 
oughly  discredited  government. 

13.  The  first  duty  of  America 
is  to  its  own  people  and  its  nearer 
neighbours. 

Our  country  would  be  involved 
in  this  adventure  for  at  least  a 
generation  and  in  counting  the 
cost  Congress  must  be  prepared 
to  advance  some  such  sums,  less 
such  amount  as  the  Turkish  and 
Transcaucasian  revenues  could 
afford,  for  the  first  five  years. 


The  Harbord  Commission  constituted  itself  attorney 
for  both  sides  to  the  controversy,  and  expected  the  peo 
ple  of  America  to  act  as  the  jury  to  determine  this 
question. 

My  own  opinion  as  to  the  duties  of  the  United  States 
toward  Turkey  is  elaborately  outlined  in  an  article  on 
"Mandates  or  War?"  which  I  contributed  to  the  New 
York  Times  on  November  9,  1919,  and  which  appears 
in  the  appendix  of  this  volume,  and  I  hope  that  those 
of  my  readers  who  are  really  interested  in  this  problem 
will  take  the  trouble  to  read  it. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

MY  MISSION  TO  POLAND 

PARIS,  in  1919,  had  emerged  from  her  darkness. 
She  had  ceased  her  weary  vigils  for  air  raids.  She 
was  no  longer  troubled  by  the  nightmare  of 
Emperor  William  at  the  head  of  his  army  triumphantly 
entering  her  gates,  marching  down  the  Champ s-Elysees, 
and,  like  his  grandfather  in  1871,  mortally  offending  her 
pride  by  defiling  the  Arc  de  Triomphe.  Instead,  she  re 
joiced  daily  in  contemplating  the  thousands  of  captured 
German  guns  which  had  been  placed  along  this  very 
route  to  celebrate  her  victory.  Crowds  of  people  in  their 
hysteric  joy  wept  as  they  stood  before  the  decorated 
statues  of  Strassburg  and  Metz,  which  once  again  were 
French  cities.  Versailles  was  not  to  be  again  used  to 
crown  a  German  Emperor,  who,  this  time,  would  have 
been  Emperor  of  the  World.  On  the  contrary,  Paris  was 
to  have  her  revenge,  for  here  were  to  gather  all  the  repre 
sentatives  of  the  various  victorious  nations,  as  well  as  the 
neutrals,  in  an  endeavour  to  formulate  a  permanent  peace. 
When  this  great  conference  was  in  the  making,  the 
Jews  in  America  had  decided  to  join  the  Jews  of  other 
nations  in  a  representative  commission  at  Paris,  to  make 
an  appeal  to  secure  in  the  Treaty  of  Peace  an  assurance 
of  the  religious  and  civil  rights  of  the  Jews,  in  the  coun 
tries  in  which  they  resided  in  large  numbers,  particularly 
in  Roumania,  Poland,  and  Russia.  The  Jews  of  the 
United  States  held  elections  of  representatives  to  a  con 
gress  in  Philadelphia,  which  was  in  turn  to  select  their 
members  of  the  Commission. 

348 


MY  MISSION  TO  POLAND  349 

I  was  elected  a  representative  from  my  district.  When, 
however,  I  reached  Philadelphia  and  conferred  with  some 
of  the  delegates,  I  found  that  the  elections  had,  in  general, 
been  so  skilfully  manipulated  by  the  Zionists  that  they, 
were  in  complete  control,  although  their  views  were  shared 
by  only  a  small  percentage  of  the  Jews  in  America. 

As  I  immediately  realized  that  the  plans  of  some  of  the 
most  aggressive  members  of  this  controlling  minority  were 
Nationalistic,  which  was  absolutely  contrary  to  the  con 
victions  of  the  vast  majority  of  Jews  in  America,  includ 
ing  myself,  I  declined  to  qualify  as  a  member  of  the 
congress,  and  left  Philadelphia  without  attending  any  of 
its  sessions. 

Subsequently,  two  hundred  and  seventy-five  prominent 
Jews,  residing  in  thirty-seven  states  of  the  Union,  signed 
a  statement  which  had  been  prepared  by  Dr.  Henry  Ber- 
kowitz,  Rev.  Dr.  David  Philipson,  the  late  Professor 
Morris  Jastrow,  and  Max  Senior.  This  statement  de 
clared  amongst  other  things  that: 

As  a  future  form  of  government  for  Palestine  will  undoubtedly  be 
considered  by  the  approaching  Peace  Conference,  we,  the  under 
signed  citizens  of  the  United  States,  unite  in  this  statement,  setting 
forth  our  objections  to  the  organization  of  a  Jewish  state  in  Palestine 
as  proposed  by  the  Zionist  societies  in  this  country  and  Europe,  and 
to  the  segregation  of  the  Jews  as  a  nationalistic  unit  in  any  country. 

We  feel  that  in  so  doing  we  are  voicing  the  opinion  of  the  majority 
of  American  Jews  born  in  this  country  and  of  those  foreign  born  who 
have  lived  here  long  enough  to  thoroughly  assimilate  American  polit 
ical  and  social  conditions.  The  American  Zionists  represent,  accord 
ing  to  the  most  recent  statistics  available,  only  a  small  proportion  of 
the  Jews  living  in  this  country,  about  150,000  out  of  3,500,000. 
(American  Jewish  Year  Book,  1918,  Philadelphia).  .  .  . 

We  raise  our  voices  in  warning  and  protest  against  the  demand  of 
the  Zionists  for  the  reorganization  of  the  Jews  as  a  national  unit,  to 
whom,  now  or  in  the  future,  territorial  sovereignty  in  Palestine  shall 
be  committed.  This  demand  not  only  misinterprets  the  trend  of  the 


350  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

history  of  the  Jews,  who  ceased  to  be  a  nation  2,000  years  ago,  but 
involves  the  limitation  and  possible  annulment  of  the  larger  claims  of 
Jews  for  full  citizenship  and  human  rights  in  all  lands  in  which  those 
rights  are  not  yet  secure.  For  the  very  reason  that  the  new  era  upon 
which  the  world  is  entering  aims  to  establish  government  everywhere 
on  principles  of  true  democracy,  we  reject  the  Zionistic  project  of  a 
"  national  home  for  the  Jewish  people  in  Palestine." 

Zionism  arose  as  the  result  of  the  intolerable  conditions  under 
which  the  Jews  have  been  forced  to  live  in  Russia  and  Roumania. 
But  it  is  evident  that  for  the  Jewish  population  of  these  countries, 
variously  estimated  at  from  six  to  ten  millions,  Palestine  can  become 
no  home  land.  Even  with  the  improvement  of  the  neglected  condition 
of  this  country,  its  limited  area  can  offer  no  solution.  The  Jewish 
question  in  Russia  and  Roumania  can  be  settled  only  within  those 
countries  by  the  grant  of  full  rights  of  citizenship  to  Jews.  .  .  . 

Against  such  a  political  segregation  of  the  Jews  in  Palestine,  or 
elsewhere,  we  object,  because  the  Jews  are  dedicated  heart  and  soul 
to  the  welfare  of  the  countries  in  which  they  dwell  under  free  con 
ditions.  All  Jews  repudiate  every  suspicion  of  a  double  allegiance, 
but  to  our  minds  it  is  necessarily  implied  in  and  cannot  by  any  logic 
be  eliminated  from  establishment  of  a  sovereign  State  for  the  Jews 
in  Palestine. 

Of  this  statement  I  was  one  of  the  signers.  Congress 
man  Julius  Kahn  and  I  were  asked  to  present  these  views 
to  the  Conference;  Rabbi  Isaac  Landman,  editor  of  The 
American  Hebrew,  joined  us,  and  the  original  text  was 
duly  filed  with  the  American  Commission  at  Paris. 

There  the  representatives  of  the  Jews  were  well  organ 
ized.  Their  delegation  included  men  from  all  the  coun 
tries  likely  to  be  affected  by  the  Treaty;  it  had  a  large 
general  commission,  a  secretariat,  committees  and  sub 
committees,  and  it  had  an  Inner  Council.  The  majority 
of  the  French  and  British  Jews — as  represented  by  the 
Alliance  Israelite  and  the  Joint  Foreign  Committee  of 
the  Anglo  Jewish  Association  and  the  Board  of  Delegates, 
which  Claude  Montefiore  and  Lucien  Wolff  headed — felt 
as  did  the  two  hundred  and  seventy-five  American  pro- 


MY  MISSION  TO  POLAND  351 

testers  and  their  adherents,  whereas  the  central  European 
Jews  strongly  advocated  the  Nationalistic  idea — and 
when  I  talked  with  the  delegates  from  the  Philadelphia 
congress,  I  discovered  that  even  some  of  those  who  were 
not  Zionists  supported  the  aims  of  the  Nationalists. 

These  men  argued  that  Jewish  nationalism  in  Poland 
and  Roumania  would  not  be  the  same  as  it  would  be  in 
America;  that  in  the  United  States  there  would  be  no 
state-within-a-state,  but  that  recognition  of  the  Jews  as 
separate  nationals  was  essential  to  their  well-being  in 
central  Europe;  that  even  the  Germans  remaining  in 
Poland  would  have  to  be  protected  as  separate  nationals, 
and  that  the  general  principle  must  be  formally  rec 
ognized. 

Every  man  has  his  master-passion:  mine  is  for  democ 
racy.  I  believe  that  history's  best  effort  in  democracy  is 
the  United  States,  which  has  rooted  in  its  Constitution  all 
that  any  group  of  its  citizens  can  legitimately  desire.  Yet 
here  were  Americans  willing  to  cooperate  with  central 
Europeans  who  wanted  to  establish  in  their  own  coun 
tries  a  "nation  within  a  nation" — a  proposition  funda 
mentally  opposed  to  our  American  principles. 

I  pointed  this  out.  I  said  that,  under  this  plan,  a  Jew 
in  Poland  or  Roumania,  for  example,  would  soon  face 
conflicting  duties,  and  that  any  American  who  advocated 
such  a  conflict  of  allegiance  for  the  Jews  of  central  Europe 
would  perhaps  expose  the  Jews  in  America  to  the  sus 
picion  of  harbouring  a  similar  desire.  Minorities  every 
where,  I  maintained,  would  fare  better  if  they  protected 
their  religious  rights  in  the  countries  where  they  resided, 
and  then  joined  their  fellow  countrymen  in  bettering  for 
all  its  inhabitants  the  land  of  their  common  citizenship. 

Meanwhile,  excesses  had  occurred  in  Poland  and  Jews 
had  suffered  cruelly.  There  was  genuine  resentment 
coupled  with  real  fear  that  the  trouble  might  develop  into 


352  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

Kiev  or  Kishineff  disasters.  There  was  the  feeling  that 
Poland,  who  had  just  emerged  from  her  yoke  of  tyranny, 
should  be  reminded  of  the  world's  expectation  that  she 
should  grant  to  her  minorities  the  same  privileges  which 
her  centuries  of  oppression  had  taught  her  to  value  for 
herself. 

The  Jews  emphasized  their  expectations  by  holding 
mass  meetings,  parades,  and  demonstrations  in  the  United 
States  and  England.  In  New  York,  15,000  Jews  packed 
Madison  Square  Garden,  and  many  thousands  more,  in 
cluding  3,000  in  uniform,  stood  in  the  surrounding  streets. 
The  leading  address  was  delivered  by  Charles  E.  Hughes. 
Resolutions  were  passed  calling  upon  President  Wilson 
to  stop  these  outbreaks,  and  to  secure  permanent  pro 
tection. 

That  was  in  May,  1919.  In  early  June,  Hugh  Gibson, 
who  had  been  our  Minister  at  Warsaw  for  a  few  weeks 
only,  was  asked  for  a  report.  He  made  a  necessarily 
hasty  investigation.  The  conclusions  he  arrived  at  in  his 
report  were  greatly  resented  by  some  Jews,  who  charged 
him  with  unduly  favouring  the  Poles.  Gibson  came  to 
Paris,  and  was  joined  by  Herbert  Hoover,  then  managing 
the  American  Relief  Work  in  Poland,  and  by  Paderewski 
representing  Poland  at  the  Peace  Conference,  to  urge 
President  Wilson  to  appoint  an  investigating  commission 
to  ascertain  the  truth.  The  President  designated  a  com 
mission  composed  of  Colonel  Warwick  Greene,  Homer  H. 
Johnson,  and  myself.  As  Colonel  Greene  declined,  Gen 
eral  Edgar  Jadwin  was  appointed  in  his  place. 

My  reluctance  to  serve  was  great,  my  position  difficult, 
and  the  American  members  of  the  Jewish  delegation  did 
not  attempt  to  diminish  the  one  or  ease  the  other.  My 
announced  opposition  to  the  Nationalist  theory  and  my 
attitude  toward  Zionism  were  against  me;  they  unani 
mously  disapproved  of  my  acceptance ;  and  the  arguments 


MY  MISSION  TO  POLAND  353 

they  presented  to  me  were  forcible.  In  one  breath,  they 
said  that  they  wanted  a  Zionist  on  the  Commission;  in  the 
next,  they  told  me  that  it  should  include  no  Jew;  in  the 
third,  they  would  express  the  conviction  that  nobody  could 
be  successful:  a  report  in  favour  of  one  side  was  sure  to 
displease  the  other. 

On  my  part,  I  felt  that  I  must  give  some  consideration 
to  these  men  who  had  devoted  so  much  of  their  lives  to  the 
Jewish  question  and  to  administering  so  many  of  the  relief 
activities  in  America.  Until  this  period,  I  had  always 
heartily  cooperated  with  them,  yet  I  realized  the  absolute 
need  of  a  fearless,  impartial  investigation  and  that,  prefer 
ably,  with  the  participation  therein  of  a  Jew. 

My  hesitation  is  shown  in  the  following  message  from 
the  Secretary-General  of  the  American  Peace  Delegation 
to  the  Under-Secretary  of  State  at  Washington: 


POLK,  Washington. 

Morgenthau  has  been  requested  by  President  to  serve  with  Warwick 
Greene  and  Homer  Johnson  on  commission  to  investigate  pogroms 
against  Jews  and  Jewish  persecutions  stop  Marshall,  Cyrus  Adler 
advise  him  to  decline  urging  that  no  Jew  be  appointed  stop  Morgen 
thau  is  in  doubt  and  requests  that  you  promptly  ascertain  opinion 
of  Schiff,  Wise,  Elkus,  Nathan  Straus,  Rosenwald  and  Samson  Lach- 
man  as  to  his  acceptance. 

JOSEPH  C.  GREW. 


I  even  told  Louis  Marshall  and  Dr.  Cyrus  Adler  that 
I  would  second  their  efforts  against  my  appointment,  and 
I  kept  my  word.  When  I  found  that  my  messages  to 
the  President  failed  to  move  him,  I  insisted  on  a  personal 
interview  with  him,  hoping  then  to  dissuade  him,  and,  on 
June  26th,  two  days  before  the  signing  of  the  Treaty  and 
the  President's  return  to  America,  this  was  secured.  When 
I  stated  to  him  that  I  wanted  to  be  relieved  from  the  Com- 


354  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

mission,  and  suggested  that  no  Jew  should  be  put  on 
same,  he  replied,  with  great  emphasis,  that  he  had  defi 
nitely  concluded  to  put  a  Jew  on  the  Commission,  so  as 
to  secure  for  the  Jews  in  Poland  a  sympathetic  hearing, 
and  that  he  had  selected  me  to  be  entrusted  with  this  task 
and  hoped  that  I  would  not  refuse  to  serve. 

"Your  putting  it  that  way,"  I  answered,  "makes  it  a 
command,  and  as  a  good  citizen,  I  will  not  disobey  it." 

Just  returned  from  Lithuania  and  anxious  to  see  his 
suggestions  in  regard  to  that  country  pushed  to  realiza 
tion,  Colonel  Greene  begged  to  be  relieved  from  serving 
on  the  Polish  Mission,  and  the  President  left  it  to  General 
Pershing  and  myself  to  secure  some  other  army  officer. 
I  went  to  the  General's  residence  on  the  momentous 
morning  of  the  signing  of  the  Peace  Treaty. 

"Let's  step  into  the  garden,"  he  said,  and,  turning  to 
General  H arbor d,  added :  "You  come  along." 

It  was  a  bright  spring  morning.  The  acres  of  garden, 
hidden  from  the  streets  of  the  Boulevard  St.  Germain 
district,  and  rich  from  centuries  of  care,  stretched  green 
and  quiet  before  us.  We  sat  on  an  old  stone  seat,  and 
Pershing  drew  out  a  memorandum  from  his  pocket. 

"Here,"  he  told  me,  "are  the  names  of  the  general 
officers  that  I  have  picked  out  for  some  recognition.  Now, 
Morgenthau,  tell  me  what  sort  of  officer  it  is  that  you 
want." 

In  a  most  comprehensive  way  he  ran  through  the  names 
and  explained  the  special  attainments  and  attributes  of 
each  man  mentioned.  Here  was  the  honour  list  of  the 
A.  E.  F.,  and  the  man  who  was  explaining  it  to  me  was 
he  whose  name  was  entitled  to  stand  in  capitals  at  its  top. 
The  experience  was  like  going  through  a  picture  gallery 
with  an  expert  pointing  out  the  best  in  every  portrait, 
and  Harbord  throwing  in  an  illuminating  remark  every 
now  and  then,  was  a  connoisseur  at  the  expert's  elbow.  I 


MY  MISSION  TO  POLAND  355 

realized  that  the  portraits  were  all  real  masterpieces — 
no  antiques — all  moderns.  They  were  the  select  of  the 
selected,  but  the  two  that  apparently  best  suited  our 
present  purpose  were  Mason  M.  Patrick  and  Edgar 
Jadwin. 

"Our  commission,"  I  repeated,  "is  expected  to  conduct 
a  real  search  for  the  truth,  without  prejudice;  to  be  well 
balanced,  the  third  member  should  be  a  man  who  will 
work  judicially,  but  be  unencumbered  with  a  legal  educa 
tion  and  the  quibbles  that  usually  accompany  it."  And, 
I  added:  "Both  Johnson  and  I  are  lawyers." 

Pershing  replied:  "If  you  mean  a  man  who  will  balance 
facts  mathematically  and  then  arrive  at  a  conclusion,  as 
an  engineer  does,  then  Jadwin  is  the  man  for  you." 

"Very  well,"  I  said,  "we'll  take  Jadwin.     Where  is  he  ?" 

"I'll  have  him  meet  you  at  the  Crillon  this  afternoon," 
said  Pershing,  and  he  kept  his  word. 

Johnson,  Jadwin,  and  I  organized  our  commission  at 
the  Crillon  before  sunset  that  day.  I  left  it  to  Jadwin  to 
choose  our  executive  secretary;  he  chose  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  M.  C.  Bryant;  we  borrowed  Major  Henry  S. 
Otto  from  Hoover,  and  selected  as  Counsel,  Captain  Ar 
thur  L.  Goodhart  who  had  been  Assistant  Corporation 
Counsel  of  New  York. 

That  same  night,  Paderewski  gave  a  dinner  at  the  Ritz. 
In  its  potentialities,  in  the  sharp  contrasts  of  character 
presented  by  the  guests,  it  was  one  of  the  most  dramatic 
events  connected  with  the  preparations  for  my  trip  to 
Poland. 

The  Versailles  Conference  was  over.  President  Wil 
son,  to  whom  the  world  still  looked  for  leadership,  was 
starting  home  within  an  hour,  taking  with  him  the  Cove 
nant  of  the  League  of  Nations.  The  Treaty  had  just 
been  signed;  the  ink  was  scarcely  dry  on  the  signatures 
to  that  document  containing  Article  93: 


356  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

Poland  accepts  and  agrees  to  embody  in  a  Treaty  with  the  Princi 
pal  Allied  and  Associated  Powers  such  provisions  as  may  be  deemed 
necessary  by  the  said  Powers  to  protect  the  interests  of  inhabitants 
of  Poland  who  differ  from  the  majority  of  the  population  in  race, 
language,  or  religion. 

And  now,  around  that  dinner-table  sat,  among  others, 
Paderewski,  Dmowski,  and  Lansing,  signers  of  the 
Treaty,  and  Hugh  Gibson  and  myself:  Lansing,  who  as 
ranking  member  of  the  Peace  Commission,  represented 
the  government  that  held  the  balance  of  the  world-power; 
Paderewski,  Poland's  Premier,  who  realized  that  the  very 
life  of  his  native  land  depended  on  peace  at  home  and 
good  opinion  abroad,  and  that  these  could  be  secured 
only  by  a  satisfactory  settlement  of  the  Jewish  problem 
within  the  Polish  boundaries;  Hugh  Gibson,  American 
Minister  to  Warsaw,  whose  report  on  that  problem  had 
increased  the  storm  of  Jewish  protest ;  Roman  Dmowski, 
the  leader  of  Anti-Semitism  in  Poland,  admittedly  its 
fomenter,  who  had  found  Article  93  a  bitter  pill;  and  I, 
who  had  been  appointed  to  go  to  Poland  to  find  out  the 
absolute  truth. 

Far  from  depressing  me,  this  juxtaposition  had  a  stim 
ulating  effect.  More  than  ever,  I  realized  the  delicacy  of 
the  task  with  which  I  had  been  entrusted.  In  the  respect 
paid  to  me  at  this  dinner  Dmowski's  Anti-Semitism  had 
obviously  received  quite  a  jolt,  and  I  wanted  to  have  a 
talk  with  him.  Paderewski,  Lansing,  and  Gibson  dra 
matically  left  the  table  to  hurry  to  the  railway  station  and 
bid  good-bye  to  President  Wilson.  When  they  had  re 
turned  and  the  dinner  was  over,  I  said  to  Lansing: 

"Here  is  your  chance  to  tell  Dmowski  how  the  Ameri 
can  Peace  Commission  feels  about  our  proposed  work  in 
Poland." 

Lansing  assented,  and  after  a  brief  talk  with  Dmowski, 
drew  him,  Gibson,  and  myself  aside,  and  I  had  my  first 


MY  MISSION  TO  POLAND  357 

man-to-man  talk  with  the  organizer  of  the  anti-Jewish 
economic  and  social  boycott  in  Poland. 

Dmowski  was  a  heavy,  domineering  figure,  with  a  thick 
neck  and  a  big,  close-cropped  head  bearing  the  bulldog 
jaw  and  the  piercing  eyes  of  the  ward-boss.  I  had 
learned  his  story:  in  the  days  of  Russian  domination  he 
had  tried  to  force  the  Jews  of  his  Warsaw  district  to  sup 
port  his  machine's  candidate  for  a  seat  in  the  Fourth 
( 1912)  Douma;  they  refused  to  vote  for  his  man,  who  was 
an  Anti-Semite,  threw  their  influence  in  favour  of  the 
Socialist  candidate  Jagellan,  and  elected  him.  Dmowski 
ever  after,  through  his  newspaper  and  in  his  position  as  a 
leader  of  the  National  Democratic  Party  of  Poland,  pur 
sued  the  cunning  policy  of  making  Anti-Semitism  a 
party  issue.  It  was  a  wilful  plot,  based  on  personal  spite, 
to  destroy  the  Polish  Jews. 

"Mr.  Dmowski,"  I  said,  "I  understand  that  you  are  an 
Anti-Semite,  and  I  want  to  know  how  you  feel  toward  our 
Commission." 

He  replied  in  an  almost  propitiating  manner: 

"My  Anti-Semitism  isn't  religious:  it  is  political.  And 
it  is  not  political  outside  of  Poland.  It  is  entirely  a  mat 
ter  of  Polish  party  politics.  It  is  only  from  that  point  of 
view  that  I  regard  it  or  your  mission.  Against  a  non- 
Polish  Jew  I  have  no  prejudice,  political  or  otherwise. 
I'll  be  glad  to  give  you  any  information  that  I  possess." 

He  then  sketched,  with  vigour,  the  arguments  against 
Jewish  nationalism  and  touched  on  the  Socialist  activities 
of  one  section  of  the  Polish  Jews.  He  also  said:  "There 
never  was  a  pogrom  in  Poland.  Lithuanian  Jews,  fleeing 
Russian  persecution  in  1908,  spoke  Russian  obtrusively 
and  banded  together  to  employ  only  Jewish  lawyers  and 
doctors;  they  started  boycotting;  the  Poles'  boycott  was 
a  necessary  retaliation.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Posen 
Jews  speak  German  and  the  others  Yiddish,  which  is 


358  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

based  on  German:  we  want  the  Polish  language  in 
Poland." 

I  arranged  to  have  him  meet  General  Jadwin  and  my 
self.  He  did  so  and  frankly  explained  his  attitude 
toward  the  Jews  and  his  participation  in  the  Economic 
Boycott.  He  had  no  moral  qualms  as  to  his  using  so 
destructive  a  method  in  his  political  fight.  He  said  that 
unless  the  Jews  would  abandon  their  exclusiveness,  they 
had  better  leave  the  country.  He  wanted  Poland  for 
the  Poles  alone< — and  made  no  secret  of  this  desire. 

Dmowski  admitted  his  unf  amiliarity  with  financial  con 
ditions  and  referred  us  to  Grabski  whom  he  brought  to 
see  us.  We  also  conferred  with  the  Pro-Semite,  Dr. 
Tsulski,  and  a  number  of  other  Poles  and  Polish  Jews  in 
Paris.  I  immediately  encountered  the  clash  of  views 
that  was  to  continue  throughout  my  entire  investigation. 

The  more  I  talked  with  the  different  factional  leaders, 
the  more  I  felt  that  they  were  speaking  not  so  much  from 
deep  conviction  as  from  political  expediency.  Out  of  that 
feeling  I  evolved  my  ideal  of  what  our  Commission  ought 
to  accomplish. 

Here  was  Poland,  who  was  expected  to  prevent  a  Ger 
man-Russian  combination — a  new  family  in  the  Clan  of 
Progressive  Peoples;  and  no  sooner  had  it  entered  the 
Clan  than  it  developed  a  family  feud.  Now,  the  welfare 
of  the  separate  families  is  the  welfare  of  the  Clan.  For 
the  Clan's  sake,  Poland  must  be  saved;  otherwise,  it 
would  be  an  easy  prey  to  the  common  enemy.  The  in 
vestigator's  duty  was  not  merely  to  ascertain,  if  that  were 
possible,  which  of  the  two  contending  factions  had  told  the 
truth,  or  which  exaggerated;  we  were  the  representatives 
of  the  most  powerful  participant  in  the  Conference  that 
projected  the  League  of  Nations;  it  was  for  us  to  see 
whether  the  quarrel  could  not  be  amicably  settled,  and 
the  new  family  saved  to  do  its  part  for  the  Clan. 


©  Keystone 


IGNACE  PADEREWSKI 


Premier  of  Poland,  and  her  representative  at  Paris,  who 
suggested  that  the  American  Mission  be  sent,  and  later,  in 
Poland,  aided  it. 


MY  MISSION  TO  POLAND  359 

Nor  was  that  all.  Our  experiment  was  a  new  one  in 
history.  We  were  not  a  delegation  of  conquerors  dic 
tating  to  the  parties  of  a  newly  subdued  province.  We 
believed  that  if  internecine  wars  were  to  be  prevented  in 
the  future,  one  of  the  best  methods  might  now  be  proved 
to  be  investigations  and  recommendations,  made  as  early 
in  the  quarrel  as  possible  by  disinterested  outsiders,  who 
would  represent  an  international  tribunal  with  power  to 
act. 

Accordingly,  Gibson  and  I  decided  that  the  Polish 
Commission  must  set  out  armed  with  instructions  that 
would  carry  it  far.  We  consulted  Mr.  Lansing,  and  the 
following  letter  resulted: 

Paris,  June  30,  1919. 

MY  DEAR  MR.  MORGENTHAU: 

As  I  understand  that  you  and  your  colleagues  on  the  Mission  to 
Poland  are  beginning  your  preliminary  work  here,  I  desire  to  make 
some  general  observations  as  to  the  character  of  the  task  confided  to 
you  by  the  President. 

The  President  was  convinced  of  the  desirability  of  sending  a  Com 
mission  to  Poland  to  investigate  Jewish  matters  after  he  had  been 
made  acquainted  with  the  various  reports  of  the  situation  there.  His 
view  was  supported  by  the  request  of  the  Polish  Government,  through 
Mr.  Paderewski,  that  an  American  Mission  be  sent  to  establish  the 
truth  of  the  various  reports  concerning  his  country.  Mr.  Gibson,  the 
American  Minister  to  Poland,  some  time  ago  asked  that  such  a 
Mission  be  sent  to  Poland  and  outlined  his  idea  of  what  it  should 
endeavour  to  accomplish. 

It  is  desired  that  your  Mission  make  careful  inquiry  into  all 
matters  affecting  the  relations  between  the  Jewish  and  non- Jewish 
elements  in  Poland.  This  will,  of  course,  involve  the  investigation  of 
the  various  massacres,  pogroms,  and  other  excesses  alleged  to  have 
taken  place,  the  economic  boycott,  and  other  methods  of  discrimina 
tion  against  the  Jewish  race.  The  establishment  of  the  truth  in  re 
gard  to  these  matters  is  not,  however,  an  end  in  itself ;  it  is  merely  for 
the  purpose  of  seeking  to  discover  the  reason  lying  behind  such 
excesses  and  discriminations  with  a  view  to  finding  a  possible  remedy. 
The  American  Government,  as  you  know,  is  inspired  by  a  friendly 


360  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

desire  to  render  service  to  all  elements  in  the  new  Poland — Christians 
and  Jews  alike.  I  am  convinced  that  any  measure  that  may  be 
taken  to  ameliorate  the  conditions  of  the  Jews  will  also  benefit  the 
rest  of  the  population  and  that,  conversely,  anything  done  for  the 
community  benefit  of  Poland  as  a  whole,  will  be  of  advantage  to  the 
Jewish  race.  I  am  sure  that  the  members  of  your  Mission  are  ap 
proaching  the  subject  in  the  right  spirit,  free  from  prejudice  one 
way  or  the  other,  and  filled  with  a  desire  to  discover  the  truth  and 
evolve  some  constructive  measures  to  improve  the  situation  which 
gives  concern  to  all  the  friends  of  Poland. 

I  am,  my  dear  Mr.  Morgenthau,  with  every  hope  that  your  Mission 
may  result  in  lasting  good, 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

ROBERT  LANSING. 

Our  Commission  arrived  in  Warsaw  on  the  13th  of 
July,  and  we  were  immediately  immersed  in  the  vortex  of 
Polish  affairs. 

The  Jewish  masses  looked  upon  us  as  hoped-for  de 
liverers,  and  upon  me  as  a  second  Moses  Montefiore,  but 
no  other  faction  was  pleased  at  our  presence.  Paderew- 
ski's  request  that  we  be  sent  was  far  from  representing 
the  wishes  of  the  entire  Polish  people;  the  majority  of 
the  Government — particularly  Pilsudski,  the  Chief  of 
State,  and  his  group — had  difficulty  in  concealing  their 
mistrust  of  the  Mission,  and  a  large  portion  of  the  press 
unreservedly  described  our  purpose  as  a  piece  of  uncalled- 
for  interference. 

As  no  enduring  benefit  was  likely  to  be  accomplished 
unless  we  won  the  good  will  of  all  concerned,  we  saw  at 
once  that  to  secure  this  was  only  secondary  to  our  discov 
ering  the  truth.  Accordingly,  as  soon  as  we  were  settled 
in  the  Raczynski  Palace,  where  the  Poles  signed  their 
Declaration  of  Independence  in  1790,  we  began  a  long 
series  of  conferences  with  men  from  all  the  political  fac 
tions,  persons  of  the  various  religious  faiths,  members  of 
the  Cabinet  and  Parliament,  the  Volks-Partei,  the  Ar- 


MY  MISSION  TO  POLAND  361 

beiter-Verein,  and  with  Jews — Zionistic,  Assimilators, 
and  Orthodox.  Of  the  Jewish  members  of  the  Parlia 
ment  there  were  Dr.  Grynenbaum,  Dr.  Thon,  Mr.  Farb- 
stein,  Hardclass,  Dr.  Rosenblatt,  who  were  Nationalistic 
Zionists;  Dr.  Weinza,  who  was  a  Radical  Zionist;  and 
Dr.  Schipper,  who  was  a  Socialistic  Zionist.  Then  there 
were  Preludski,  and  Hirsthorn  of  the  Volks-Partei ;  and 
Rabbis  Perlmutter  and  Halpern  of  the  Orthodox  Jewish 
party. 

Our  quarters  were  flooded  with  visitors.  To  our  first 
sitting  came  representatives  of  the  Zionists  to  state  their 
case,  and  then  the  picturesque  Rabbi  Perlmutter,  with  his 
white,  patriarchal  beard,  who,  accompanied  by  two  other 
rabbis,  called  to  extend  the  welcome  of  the  Orthodox 
Jews. 

That  was  the  beginning  of  a  full  fortnight  of  Warsaw 
hearings.  Day  after  day,  we  sat  there,  listening,  ques 
tioning,  taking  voluminous  notes,  making  bulky  records. 
There  came  representatives  from  the  Jews  of  Lodz,  Lem- 
berg,  Cracow,  Vilna,  and  other  towns — each  delegation 
with  its  own  story  and  each  entreating  us  to  visit  its  city 
and  conduct  personal  investigations  there.  The  story  of 
the  men  from  Minsk  is  worth  repeating:  they  claimed  pos 
session  of  definite  information  of  a  conspiracy  against 
them  whereby,  when  the  Polish  Army  should  enter  Minsk, 
Anti-Semitic  Bolshevist  soldiers,  lagging  in  the  rear  of 
the  Bolsheviki's  retreat,  would  "snipe"  at  the  conquerors 
from  houses  occupied  by  Jews,  so  that  the  Jews  would 
be  blamed  and  pogroms  result;  they  even  gave  the  loca 
tion  of  the  houses. 

Thus  it  went  from  morning  until  night.  One  day 
there  were  ten  different  delegations,  each  important,  each 
interesting,  to  be  listened  to.  It  was  not  long  before  we 
found,  to  our  surprise,  that  the  chief  sources  of  trouble 
could  be  traced  to  a  comparatively  few  factional  leaders, 


362  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

not  more  than  would  fill  a  small  room,  and  that  for  these 
the  opportunity  to  express  their  clashing  views  was  in 
itself  a  relief  to  the  tenseness  of  the  situation. 

In  a  class  by  himself,  however,  was  Rabbi  Rubenstein, 
who  came  from  Vilna  when  we  were  in  the  middle  of  one 
of  our  endless  conferences  with  Warsaw  Zionists.  He 
was  a  Lithuanian  and  though  he  had  been  flogged  for  re 
fusing  to  sign  a  paper  charging  the  Bolsheviki  with  the 
Vilna  outrages,  he  was  still  defiant  toward  the  Poles. 
Learned  in  more  than  Jewish  scholarship,  he  had  a  grasp 
of  the  economic  laws  involved  in  the  present  difficulties 
and  a  keen  understanding  of  world  politics  that  was 
touched  with  statesmanship.  But,  above  all,  he  was  the 
shepherd  pleading  for  his  sheep;  he  displayed  a  pathetic 
faith  that  here  at  last  was  a  tribunal  anxious  to  dispense 
justice.  Imagine  a  face  like  that  of  some  mediaeval  ar 
tist's  "Christ,"  lined  with  the  horror  of  his  recent  expe 
riences;  eyes  wide  with  the  grief  that  they  had  suffered  in 
witnessing  the  massacre  of  the  flower  of  his  flock.  His 
gesturing  hands  shook,  his  voice  was  broken  by  emotion, 
but  he  recounted  the  history  of  these  now  well-known 
Vilna  excesses  with  an  eloquence  that  was  all  the  more 
moving  because  it  was  wholly  unstudied,  and  every  now 
and  then  the  current  of  his  speech  was  broken  by  spas 
modic  ebullitions  of  resentment  which  he  could  no  longer 
repress. 

He  begged  us  not  to  make  the  mistake  of  previous 
hasty  investigators.  He  implored  us  to  spend  at  least 
three  days  in  Vilna.  His  community  had  retained  two 
lawyers,  who  had  collected  all  the  evidence;  everything 
would  be  thoroughly  prepared,  but  there  were  so  many 
witnesses  to  be  examined  that  a  three  days'  sojourn  was 
the  minimum  necessity.  Here,  it  was  clear,  was  no  re 
ligious  fanatic;  his  plea  was  so  brilliant,  his  sincerity  so 
convincing,  that  we  readily  agreed  with  his  request. 


MY  MISSION  TO  POLAND  363 

I  have  said  that  the  Zionists  were  our  first  callers ;  they 
were  also  our  most  constant.  We  were  soon  in  close  con 
tact  with  all  their  leaders,  attended  their  meetings,  and 
studied  their  activities.  Some  were  pro-Russian,  all  were 
practically  non-Polish,  and  the  Zionism  of  most  of  them 
was  simply  advocacy  of  Jewish  Nationalism  within  the 
Polish  state.  Thus,  when  the  committee  of  the  Djem,  or 
Polish  Constitutional  Assembly,  called  on  us,  led  by  Gry- 
nenbaum,  Farbstein,  and  Thon — all  men  who  had  dis 
carded  the  dress  and  beard  of  the  Orthodox  Jew — and 
when  I  discovered  that  they  were  really  authorized  to 
represent  that  section  of  the  Jews  that  had  complained  to 
the  world  of  the  alleged  pogroms,  I  notified  them  that  we 
were  willing  to  give  them  several  hours  a  day  until  they 
had  completed  the  presentation  of  their  case  to  their  entire 
satisfaction.  That  programme  was  adhered  to. 

Besides  their  version  of  the  excesses,  they  presented 
evidence  of  considerable  political  bad  faith  and  much 
economic  oppression  on  the  part  of  a  section  of  the  Poles. 
Contrary  to  explicit  understanding,  an  election  had  been 
set  for  the  Jewish  Sabbath;  and  there  had  been  gerry 
mandering  at  Bialystok,  so  that  in  the  municipal  election 
the  Jewish  votes  had  been  swamped  by  voters  admitted 
from  surrounding  villages.  We  were  told  of  the  develop 
ment  of  cooperative  stores  which  both  excluded  the  Jews 
as  members  and  were  pledged  against  patronizing  Jewish 
wholesale  merchants  or  manufacturers. 

"But,"  we  asked,  "you  don't  expect  to  end  these  things 
by  propaganda  for  an  exodus  to  Palestine?" 

They  admitted  that  taking  anything  short  of  50,000 
Jews  a  year  out  of  Poland  would  effect  no  noticeable  de 
crease  in  the  population  there.  They  were  afraid  that 
the  Government  intended  to  treat  the  Jews  in  the  old  way 
and  that  they  would  not  be  given  rights  equal  to  those  of 
other  Polish  citizens;  if  they  could  not  go  to  Palestine,  if 


364  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

they  were  to  be  regarded  as  a  foreign  mass  in  the  Polish 
body  politic,  they  wanted  the  privileges  that  they  felt 
ought  to  be  granted  them,  to  offset  the  privations  of  such 
a  situation.  To  that  end  they  were  employing  the  Zionist 
agitation. 

"We  want,"  they  said,  "to  be  permitted  to  vote  for 
Jewish  representatives  no  matter  what  part  of  the  country 
we  or  they  live  in.  The  Jews  form  fourteen  per  cent,  of 
Poland's  population.  We  want  a  fourteen  per  cent,  rep 
resentation  in  Poland's  Parliament.  That  will  give  us 
fifty-six  members  instead  of  the  eleven  Jewish  members 
there  at  present." 

They  admitted  that  their  fifty-six  could  sway  legislation 
only  in  case  of  close  divisions  among  the  other  parties. 

Then  there  were  the  Assimilators,  whose  attitude  was 
the  extreme  opposite  of  the  Zionists.  They  invited  us 
to  a  reception,  and  we  found  them  very  intelligent  and 
deeply  interested  in  the  future  of  Poland — distinct  in  no 
detail  of  dress  or  speech,  and  holding  membership  in 
political  parties  on  purely  Polish  principles,  just  as  a 
Jew  in  America  may  be  a  Democrat  or  a  Republican 
without  reference  to  his  religion.  They  regarded  Juda 
ism  as  a  matter  of  faith.  They  were  prosperous,  many  of 
them  were  professional  men,  and  all  of  them  mingled  on 
a  footing  of  social  equality  with  the  Christians. 

The  meeting  of  the  old  order  with  the  new  presented 
many  a  contrast.  I  recall  particularly  a  reception  of 
which  the  Countess  Zermoysky,  representing  the  ancient 
aristocracy,  was  one  of  the  attractions.  That  was  like 
an  episode  under  Louis  XIV  transported  untouched  into 
the  modern  world.  Amid  ornate  decorations,  lavish  re 
freshments,  excellent  music,  and  displays  of  fireworks, 
the  pretty  Countess  presided  with  all  the  grace  and  charm 
of  a  lady  of  the  court  of  the  Grand  Monarch;  beside  her 
towered  General  Pilsudski,  the  gruff  and  bluff  Chief  of 


MY  MISSION  TO  POLAND  365 

State  of  the  new  Polish  regime.  The  old  aristocracy 
was  flirting  with  the  modern  forces-in-power,  and  the 
modernists,  more  than  a  little  flattered,  were  by  no  means 
repelling  these  charming  attentions. 

Nothing  could  have  been  more  interesting.  While 
Ambassador  at  Constantinople,  I  had  seen  the  disintegra 
tion  of  Turkey.  In  Paris  I  had  been  present  at  the  ob 
sequies  of  the  German  and  Austrian  Empires;  here  I  was 
attending  a  christening,  with  parents  and  god-parents, 
nursery  governesses  and  prospective  tutors  and  guard 
ians,  all  discussing  the  child's  career. 

Our  escort,  M.  Skrzynski,  the  Acting  Foreign  Secre 
tary,  turned  to  me: 

"In  judging  the  Poles,"  he  said  in  that  soft,  musical 
voice  of  his,  "you  must  remember  that  we  are  really  a 
sweet  and  sentimental  people.  The  new  government  has 
not  yet  assumed  the  full  authority  dropped  by  the  Rus 
sians.  We  are  still  uncertain  whether,  if  we  tighten  the 
reins,  the  horse  may  balk.  Once  the  horse  was  the  people ; 
now  the  people  are  the  drivers.  We  are  wondering 
whether  the  bit  will  hurt  the  tender  mouths  of  the  aristo 
crats." 

He  was  a  tall,  handsome  fellow,  this  Skrzynski,  with 
the  head  of  a  Beethoven  and  the  manners  of  a  Chester 
field.  He  looked  an  amateur  artist.  He  was  one  of 
those  who  came  into  the  new  government  from  the  old 
aristocracy;  but  he  never  forgot  his  part  as  a  loyal  Repub 
lican  and  evinced  an  almost  boyish  pride  in  his  work. 

One  evening  we  were  asked  to  supper  by  a  certain  man 
of  title.  His  manner  was  exceedingly  cordial  and  broad- 
minded,  and  he  had  ransacked  the  entire  neighbourhood 
to  make  his  banquet  a  great  success.  He  had  invited 
some  of  the  prominent  Jews  of  his  city.  He  showed  us 
with  great  pride  a  statue  of  Napoleon  by  Houdon,  and 
other  fine  works  of  art.  Captain  Goodhart,  the  counsel 


366  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

of  the  Commission,  was  sitting  with  the  titled  personage's 
niece,  a  vivacious  girl  of  about  eighteen. 

"Just  look  at  uncle  and  aunt,"  she  whispered,  "how 
charmingly  they  are  treating  the  Ambassador.  They 
are  just  loading  him  down  with  attentions.  It  seems 
strange  to  me,  to  see  a  Jew  treated  with  such  consideration 
in  our  home.  You  know,  I  just  detest  the  Jews,  don't 
you?" 

"Well,  really,"  he  said,  "I  can't  possibly  agree  with  you, 
because  I  am  a  Jew  myself." 

The  little  Countess  was  all  confusion. 

"Don't — don't  tell  my  uncle  what  I  have  said,"  she 
begged,  "he  would  never  forgive  me!" 

Askenazy  is  another  personage  of  those  days  whom  I 
shall  long  remember.  One  of  the  great  scholars  of  Lem- 
berg  University,  he  was  known  as  the  foremost  historian 
of  Central  Europe;  since  then  he  has  become  a  familiar 
international  figure  as  Poland's  representative  at  the 
Geneva  meetings  of  the  League  of  Nations.  An  oc 
casional  attendant  at  the  Synagogue,  he  was  nevertheless 
a  pronounced  Assimilator  and  enormously  proud  of  the 
fact  that  his  family  have  lived  in  Poland  since  1650. 

Askenazy  saw  small  benefit  to  anybody  in  the  alleged 
privileges  of  educational  separation  granted  the  Polish 
Jews  by  the  Treaty. 

"If  the  Jews  have  their  own  schools,"  he  said,  "that  will 
only  widen  the  difference  between  them  and  the  Poles." 

I  reminded  him  that  the  separation  extended  merely  to 
the  primary  schools. 

"It  will  be  gradually  applied  to  the  high  schools,"  he 
insisted,  "and  then  to  the  universities.  In  their  primary 
schools,  the  Jewish  children  will  of  course  be  taught  He 
brew  or  Yiddish;  that  will  make  it  next  to  impossible  for 
them  to  mix  with  the  pupils  of  the  higher  grades  when 
they  get  there." 


MY  MISSION  TO  POLAND  367 

Very  impressive  was  our  visit  to  the  chief  synagogue 
of  Warsaw.  There  must  have  been  25,000  people  pres 
ent.  Outside  the  building,  those  clamouring  for  en 
trance  literally  jammed  the  square,  and  the  streets  for 
several  blocks  surrounding  it,  from  house  wall  to  house 
wall;  inside,  the  crowd  was  so  dense  that  every  man's 
shoulder  overlapped  his  neighbour's.  The  cries  from  the 
street  made  it  imperative  for  us  to  show  ourselves  there, 
after  the  services,  when  we  were  almost  mobbed.  Some 
of  the  crowd  wanted  to  pull  our  automobile  to  our  home ; 
others  clamoured  to  carry  us  there  on  their  shoulders,  and 
something  close  to  good-natured  force  had  to  be  used  to 
enable  us  to  reach  our  car.  Rubenstein  came  from  Vilna 
for  the  meeting;  there  was  a  delegation  from  Posen;  and 
Dr.  Thon  represented  the  Jews  of  the  Parliament.  An 
eminent  nerve  specialist  from  Posen,  in  his  speech,  stated 
that  the  nervous  condition  of  the  Jews  should  be  at 
tributed  to  "Halleritis" — a  fear  of  what  the  Polish  Army 
under  General  Haller  might  next  do  to  them;  while  Poz- 
nansky,  the  Rabbi,  in  his  address,  laid  stress  on  the  Jews' 
desire  to  be  first  class,  and  not  second  class,  Polish  citi 
zens. 

This  is  not  the  place  to  recapitulate  all  the  details  of  our 
journey  through  Poland.  In  Vilna,  where  our  calendar 
was  overcrowded,  we  got  through  a  really  incredible 
amount  of  work,  by  running  three  tribunals,  each  with  an 
investigator,  interpreter,  and  stenographer.  The  accounts 
of  the  evidence — of  the  testimony  concerning  the  outrages 
to  which  the  Jews  had  undoubtedly  been  subjected — all 
the  world  has  long  since  read.  I  shall  touch  only  on  three 
incidents:  those  at  Stanislawa,  Pinsk,  and  Vilna. 

From  Stanislawa,  the  Christian  authorities  had  asked 
for  a  visit  from  our  Commission  to  prevent  a  provocation 
of  a  pogrom  by  the  Jews.  When  I  arrived,  the  Burgo 
master  explained  that  the  Jews'  sympathy  with  the 


368  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

Ukrainians  might  provoke  an  attack  of  the  Polish  citi 
zens.  I  asked: 

"How  is  your  city  governed?" 

"By  a  representative  committee  of  Christians  and 
Jews." 

"How  many  Christians?" 

"Sixty." 

"And  how  many  Jews?" 

"One." 

I  said  I  should  like  to  see  that  one. 

"Well,"  said  the  Burgomaster,  "you  see  he  wasn't  on 
good  terms  with  the  Zionists,  and  so  he  had  to  go." 

I  sent  for  a  committee  of  Jewish  residents. 

They  told  us  of  their  fearful  predicament.  The  gov 
ernmental  control  of  their  city  had  changed  six  times  in 
four  years.  Each  time  it  changed,  the  new  power,  be  it 
Austrian,  Polish,  or  Ukrainian,  would  punish  them  for 
having  been  loyal  to  their  predecessor.  If  they  remained 
neutral,  all  would  make  them  suffer.  "What  are  we  to 
do?" 

I  guessed  now  what  the  local  authorities  had  been  up 
to.  They  were  anti-Jewish  and,  if  the  federal  govern 
ment  had  not  sent  somebody  in  answer  to  their  request, 
they  would  have  interpreted  that  as  the  sanctioning  of  fur 
ther  excesses.  I  therefore  had  the  Burgomaster  and  his 
friends  in  again,  and  declared  that  the  republic's  authori 
ties  realized  that  Poland's  standing  with  the  outside  world 
depended  on  her  justice  to  the  Jews. 

"You  are  politicians,  and  I  am  a  politician,"  I  con 
cluded,  "therefore  we  can  talk  in  that  language.  You 
have  been  preparing  for  a  pogrom.  Now  I  want  to  tell 
you  that  your  government  is  as  anxious  as  I  am  to  avoid 
further  maltreatment  of  the  Jews,  and  if  any  occurs  in 
Stanislawa,  you  will  be  removed  from  office." 

After  we  had  a  friendly  discussion  of  the  plight  in  which 


MY  MISSION  TO  POLAND  369 

the  local  Jews  found  themselves,  the  Burgomaster  assured 
me  that  there  would  be  no  difficulties  in  his  city,  and  there 
were  none. 

I  wish  that  I  could  adequately  describe  the  scene  that  I 
witnessed  in  Pinsk.  It  has  haunted  me  ever  since,  and 
has  seemed  a  complete  expression  of  the  misery  and  injus 
tice  which  is  prevalent  over  such  a  large  part  of  the  world 
to-day.  A  few  months  before  our  arrival,  a  particularly 
atrocious  Jewish  massacre  occurred.  A  Polish  officer, 
Major  Letoviski,  and  fifteen  of  his  troops  had  entered  an 
assembly-hall  where  the  leading  Jewish  residents  had  gath 
ered,  as  a  committee  in  behalf  of  the  American  Joint  Dis 
tribution  Committee,  to  distribute  supplies  of  flour  for  the 
unleavened  Passover  bread.  The  Poles  arrested  these 
Jews  and  marched  them  hurriedly  to  the  public  square 
and  in  the  dim  light  of  an  automobile  lamp,  placed  thirty- 
five  of  them  against  the  cathedral  wall  and  shot  them  in 
cold  blood. 

A  somewhat  hazy  charge  had  been  made  that  these  men 
were  Bolshevists,  but  no  trial  was  given  them,  and,  in 
deed,  the  charge  was  subsequently  shown  to  be  untrue. 
Returning  to  the  scene  of  execution  on  the  next  morning, 
the  troops  found  that  three  of  their  victims  were  still 
breathing;  these  they  despatched,  and  all  the  thirty-five 
corpses  were  then  thrown  into  a  pit  in  an  old  Jewish  ceme 
tery,  without  an  opportunity  for  decent  burial  or  religious 
exercises,  and  with  nothing  to  mark  the  graves. 

Up  to  the  time  that  our  Commission  came,  not  a  single 
Jew  had  been  permitted  to  visit  that  cemetery ;  but  I  was 
allowed  to  inspect  the  scene  of  this  martyrdom,  and, 
when  I  entered,  a  great  crowd  of  Jews,  who  had  followed 
me,  also  went  in.  As  soon  as  they  reached  the  burial 
place  of  their  relatives,  they  all  threw  themselves  upon  the 
ground,  and  set  up  a  wailing  that  still  rings  in  my  ears; 
it  expressed  the  misery  of  centuries. 


370  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

That  same  evening  I  attended  divine  service  at  the  Pinsk 
synagogue.  The  building  was  crowded  to  its  capacity, 
the  men  wedged  into  almost  a  solid  mass.  Those  that 
could  not  enter  were  gathered  outside.  All  the  Jews  of 
Pinsk  were  there.  This  was  their  first  opportunity  since 
April  to  express  their  grief  in  their  house  of  worship. 
This  huge  mass  cried  and  screamed  until  it  seemed  that 
the  heavens  would  burst.  I  had  read  of  such  public  ex 
pression  of  agony  in  the  Old  Testament,  but  this  was  the 
first  time  that  I  ever  completely  realized  what  the  collect 
ive  grief  of  a  persecuted  people  was  like.  To  me  it 
expressed  the  misery  of  centuries  and  remains  a  pitiful 
memory  and  symbol  of  the  cry  for  help  that  is  still  going 
forth  from  a  great  part  of  Europe. 

Who  were  these  thirty-five  victims?  They  were  the 
leaders  of  the  local  Jewish  community,  the  spiritual  and 
moral  leaders  of  the  5,000  Jews  in  a  city,  eighty-five  per 
cent,  of  the  population  of  which  was  Jewish;  the  organ 
izers  of  the  charities,  the  directors  of  the  hospitals,  the 
friends  of  the  poor.  And  yet,  to  that  incredibly  brutal, 
and  even  more  incredibly  stupid,  officer  who  ordered  their 
execution,  they  were  only  so  many  Jews. 

Something  of  the  same  sort  happened  at  Vilna.  There 
was  fighting  between  the  advancing  Poles  and  the  retir 
ing  Bolsheviki;  shots  were  fired  from  private  houses 
against  the  Polish  troops,  and  the  Poles,  in  the  anger  of 
their  new-found  authority,  assumed  that  the  Jewish  house- 
owners  were  guilty.  They  did  not  stop  to  learn  the  fact 
that  the  Jews  of  Vilna  were  glad  to  get  rid  of  Bolshevist 
rule:  they  slaughtered  or  deported  all  who  were  suspects 
— men  like  Jaffe,  that  Jewish  poet  who  lived  in  a  world  of 
his  own  beautiful  and  harmless  dreams,  were  treated 
shamefully. 

These  descriptions  of  the  occurrences  at  Pinsk  and 
Vilna  are  totally  inadequate  to  describe  the  fearful  plight 


MY  MISSION  TO  POLAND  371 

of  the  Jews.  Even  the  fuller  accounts  contained  in  my 
official  report  to  the  American  Commission  to  Negotiate 
Peace — which  is  printed  in  full  in  the  Appendix — does 
not  adequately  portray  the  sad  conditions  of  these  Jews 
in  Poland  at  present.  Giving  harrowing  details  will  not 
remedy  the  situation,  and  might  be  misconstrued  and  do 
harm  to  those  suffering  people.  Hence,  I  have  abstained. 

It  was  in  Vilna  that  we  had  a  real  show-down  with  the 
Chief  of  State  of  Poland.  All  this  time  we  had  been  in 
the  unpleasant  position  of  a  delegation  of  foreigners  en 
deavouring  to  render  a  service  to  a  country  whose  presi 
dent  openly  resented  our  presence  there. 

"Pogroms?"  Pilsudski  had  thundered  when  I  first  called 
on  him.  It  was  in  the  Czar's  summer  palace  near  War 
saw  that  he  was  living,  and  he  received  me  in  the  "library" 
where  there  was  not  a  book  to  be  seen.  "There  have  been 
no  pogroms  in  Poland! — nothing  but  unavoidable  acci 
dents." 

I  asked  the  difference. 

"A  pogrom,"  he  explained  reluctantly,  "is  a  massacre 
ordered  by  the  government,  or  not  prevented  by  it  when 
prevention  is  possible.  Among  us  no  wholesale  killings 
of  Jews  have  been  permitted.  Our  trouble  isn't  religious ; 
it  is  economic.  Our  petty  dealers  are  Jews.  Many  of 
them  have  been  war-profiteers,  some  have  had  dealings 
with  the  Germans  or  the  Bolsheviki,  or  both,  and  this  has 
created  a  prejudice  against  Jews  in  general." 

At  that  meeting  he  stormed  against  the  new  school  reg 
ulations;  they  would  not  only  ghettoize  the  Jews,  but, 
and  here  his  real  objection  revealed  itself,  they  were  re 
pugnant  because  forced  upon  the  country  from  the  out 
side. 

"Russia,"  he  declared,  "will  return  to  autocracy:  the 
Russians  can  survive  even  the  privations  of  Bolshevism. 
But  our  problem  is  vastly  different.  We  have  become  a 


372  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

free  republic,  and  we  propose  to  remain  one,  in  spite  of 
interference.  The  Poles  and  the  Jews  can't  live  together 
on  friendly  terms  for  years  to  come,  but  they  will  manage 
it  at  last.  In  the  meantime,  the  Jew  will  have  all  his 
legal  rights.  It  is  our  own  affair;  our  own  honour  is  in 
volved,  and  we  are  entirely  able  to  guard  it." 

Now  our  Commission  was  at  Vilna,  and  Pilsudski  came 
there;  it  was  his  birthplace,  and  here  were  we  invading  it 
with  an  American  Commission.  Etiquette  required  that 
Jadwin  and  I  should  call  on  him. 

The  president  was  quartered  in  the  Bishop's  Palace. 
We  were  received  with  great  formality  and  ushered 
through  several  vast  rooms  before  we  reached  the  audience- 
chamber.  A  storm  was  brewing,  the  light  was  dim.  We 
found  ourselves  in  a  great  big  uninviting  room,  with  long 
windows  opening  on  a  large  court.  War  had  stripped  it 
of  all  its  ancient  hangings;  the  old  furniture  that  belonged 
there  must  have  vanished,  in  its  stead  were  a  few  pieces  of 
cheap  and  stiff  modern  manufacture.  There  was  a  desk 
at  the  far  end,  and  at  it  was  seated  Pilsudski. 

He  was  a  huge,  forbidding  man.  His  uniform,  buttoned 
tight  to  the  base  of  his  big  neck,  was  unadorned  by  any 
orders — the  uniform  of  a  fighter.  His  square  jaw  was 
thrust  out  below  thick  lips  firmly  set;  his  face  was  abnor 
mally  broad,  with  cheekbones  high  and  prominent;  his 
cropped  hair  bristled  and  his  snapping  eyes  glinted  from 
under  a  thicket  caused  by  his  heavy  eyebrows  that  met 
across  his  forehead. 

He  had  evidently  been  reading  the  Anti-Semitic  news 
papers  to  advantage  and  was  determined  to  give  me  a 
piece  of  his  mind.  The  storm  from  heaven  broke  just  as 
the  verbal  torrent  began,  and  the  patter  of  the  rain  on  the 
stones  of  the  old  courtyard  wove  in  and  out  like  an  orches- 
•tral  obligate  to  the  Wagnerian  recitative  of  the  Polish 
Chief -of -State.  He  spoke  in  German — a  language  ex- 


MY  MISSION  TO  POLAND  373 

cellently  suited  to  his  purpose — and  soon  the  ancient 
rafters  were  ringing  with  his  invective. 

He  declared  that  he  was  the  chosen  head  of  20,000,000 
people  and  would  defend  their  dignity.  He  represented 
the  Polish  Government,  the  ruling  power  of  a  people  that 
had  been  a  nation  when  America  was  unknown,  and  here 
was  a  committee  of  Americans  stepping  between  the 
elected  Government  of  Poland  and  the  Polish  electors — 
positively  belittling  the  former  to  the  latter.  He  dis 
missed  as  unfounded  the  stories  about  bad  treatment  of 
prisoners.  He  asserted  that,  considering  Vilna's  popula 
tion  of  150,000,  civilian  casualties  in  the  three  days'  fight 
ing  for  its  occupation  had  been  comparatively  few. 
Excesses?  The  exaggerations  of  the  foreign  press  con 
cerning  what  had  happened  to  a  relatively  small  number 
of  Jews  had  been  monstrous — one  would  think  the  country 
drenched  with  blood,  whereas  the  occurrences  had  been 
mere  trifles  inevitably  incident  to  any  conquest. 

"These  little  mishaps,"  he  said,  "were  all  over,  and 
now  you  come  here  to  stir  the  whole  thing  up  again  and 
probably  make  a  report  that  may  still  further  hurt  our 
credit  abroad.  The  Polish  people  resent  even  the  charge 
of  ever  having  deserved  distrust:  how  then  can  your 
activities  have  any  other  effect  than  to  increase  the  racial 
antipathy  that  you  say  you  want  to  end?" 

He  was  most  bitter  when  he  referred  to  Article  93. 

"Why  not  trust  to  Poland's  honour?"  he  shouted. 
"Don't  plead  that  the  article's  concessions  are  few  in  num 
ber  or  negative  in  character!  Let  them  be  as  small  or  as 
negative  as  you  please,  that  article  creates  an  authority — 
a  power  to  which  to  appeal — outside  the  laws  of  this  coun 
try!  Every  faction  within  Poland  was  agreed  on  doing 
justice  to  the  Jew,  and  yet  the  Peace  Conference,  at  the 
insistence  of  America,  insults  us  by  telling  us  that  we 
must  do  justice.  That  was  a  public  insult  to  my  country 


374  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

just  as  she  was  assuming  her  rightful  place  among  the 
sovereign  states  of  the  world!" 

For  fully  ten  minutes  he  continued  his  tirade.  Noth 
ing  could  have  stopped  him  and  I  didn't  try.  When  he 
was  quite  out  of  breath,  I  said  quietly: 

"Well,  General,  you've  made  good  use  of  your  oppor 
tunity;  you've  gotten  rid  of  all  your  gall.  Now  let's  talk 
from  heart  to  heart."  I  suited  the  expression  of  my  face 
to  my  words ! 

The  effect  was  surprising.  He  stared  at  me  for  a  mo 
ment  with  unbelieving  eyes  and  then  threw  back  his  head 
and  burst  into  a  giant  laugh. 

Then  came  my  turn.  I  said  that,  in  my  official  capa 
city,  I  was  no  Jew,  was  not  even  an  American,  but  a  rep 
resentative  of  all  civilized  nations  and  their  religions.  I 
stood  for  tolerance  in  its  broadest  sense.  I  explained 
exactly  what  our  Commission  was  after,  told  what  we  had 
done  so  far  and  made  it  clear  that  we  were  there  not  to  in 
jure  Poland,  but  to  help  her.  Pilsudski's  entire  attitude 
changed;  before  I  left  him,  he  consented  to  release  the 
Jewish  prisoners  still  in  custody  since  April,  1919,  "as 
rapidly  as  each  case  can  be  investigated." 

On  our  return  to  Warsaw,  Billinski,  the  Minister  of 
Finance,  told  us  that,  in  order  to  get  the  Orthodox  Jews' 
point  of  view,  we  should  interview  a  Wunder  Rabbiner. 
Inquiry  convinced  me  that  the  outstanding  of  these,  exer 
cising  a  vast  influence,  was  Rabbi  Alter,  of  Gory- 
Kalavaria,  and,  unannounced,  Jadwin  and  I  visited  him 
at  a  summer  resort  near  Warsaw.  A  large  number  of 
students  surrounded  him,  all  gowned  in  their  long  black 
kaftans,  and  bearded  in  the  extreme  manner  of  their  sect. 
He  presented  us  to  them  and  to  his  wife,  and  I  found 
him  anti-Zionistic  and  anti-Nationalistic,  but  much  de 
pressed  because  of  the  harsh  treatment  of  the  Jews.  I 
asked  him  to  visit  me  in  Warsaw;  he  came,  accompanied 


JOSEPH  PILSUDSKI 

Chief  of  State  of  Poland,  who  was  not,  at  first,  in  sympathy 
with  the  American  Mission 


MY  MISSION  TO  POLAND  375 

by  his  son-in-law  and  two  other  Orthodox  Rabbis,  Lewin 
and  Sirkis,  and  I  had  a  stenographer  take  down  our  con 
versation. 

Space  will  not  permit  the  reproduction  here  of  all  that 
these  leaders  said,  and  I  shall  confine  myself  to  repeating 
just  a  few  of  their  remarks,  and  in  considering  them,  it 
should  be  kept  in  mind  that  the  Orthodox  Jews  number 
80  per  cent,  of  the  Jewish  population  of  Poland. 

"Our  principal  conflict,"  said  Rabbi  Alter,  "is  with 
Jews:  our  chief  opponents  at  every  step  are  the  Zionists. 
The  Orthodox  are  satisfied  to  live  side  by  side  with, people 
of  different  religions.  .  .  .  The  Zionists  side-track 
religion." 

"We  are  exiled,"  said  Rabbi  Lewin;  "we  cannot  be 
freed  from  our  banishment,  nor  do  we  wish  to  be.  We 
cannot  redeem  ourselves.  .  ,  .  We  will  abide  by  our 
religion  [in  Poland]  until  God  Almighty  frees  us." 

And  again:  "We  would  rather  be  beaten  and  suffer  for 
our  religion  [than  discard  the  distinguishing  marks  of 
Orthodox  Judaism,  such  as  not  cutting  the  beard,  etc.] 
.  .  .  The  Orthodox  love  Palestine  far  more  than 
others,  but  they  want  it  as  a  Holy  Land  for  a  holy  race." 

News  of  our  proceedings  had  preceded  us  to  Warsaw, 
and  our  purpose  was  beginning  to  be  understood  and  ap 
preciated,  even  by  those  who  had  formerly  suspected  and 
mistrusted  us. 

I  had  another  talk  there  with  Pilsudski.  He  said  that 
the  Poles  and  Jews  must  live  together,  that  their  relations 
could  never  be  perfect,  but  that  the  Government  would 
really  do  its  best  to  avoid  friction.  Meantime,  he  hoped  that 
there  would  be  an  end  of  official  missions  to  inquire  into 
the  problem;  he  had  no  objection  to  private  investigations, 
and,  so  far  as  our  mission  was  concerned,  he  admitted  it 
had  already  had  a  good  effect.  He  hoped  our  report  would 
satisfy  the  world  enough  to  end  such  inquiries,  for  he  did 


376  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

feel  that  interference  from  foreign  nations  was  bad  for  the 
prestige  of  the  government  at  home.  He  concluded  by 
asking  Jadwin  and  myself  to  meet  his  Cabinet  at  a 
luncheon  which  he  had  instructed  Skrzynski  to  arrange. 

Skrzynski  opened  the  talk  that  followed  the  luncheon 
by  praising  our  work  and  our  evident  inclination  to  spare 
Poland's  pride.  I  followed  by  saying  that,  though  we 
would  have  to  rap  Poland's  knuckles  and  blame  some  of 
the  Poles  severely  for  certain  excesses  and  economic  per 
secutions,  which  I  strongly  condemned,  we  would  present 
our  conclusions  with  fairness  to  both  sides.  It  was 
important  not  to  forget  that  this  was  a  matter  in  which 
all  the  world  was  interested  and  that  only  strict  honesty 
would  satisfy.  The  Polish  authorities  had  adopted  a  con 
tradictory  defense,  entering  a  general  denial  and  yet 
pleading  justification.  They  ought  to  have  confessed  that 
excesses  had  occurred,  denied  any  official  participation  in 
them,  frowned  upon  them,  promised  to  prevent  them  in 
the  future,  and  punished  the  culprits. 

Billinski  replied  for  the  Cabinet.  A  man  of  more  than 
seventy,  he  had  held  the  portfolio  of  Finance  under 
the  Emperor  Franz-Josef  of  Austria  and  was  typi 
cal  of  the  old  Continental  bureaucracy.  He,  too,  felici 
tated  us  on  the  pleasant  ending  of  our  work,  concerning 
which,  he  said,  he  and  his  colleagues  had  entertained  such 
grave  doubts.  Poland,  he  said,  wanted  no  more  "polem 
ics";  the  desire  of  the  government  was  to  quiet  things. 
Any  admission  of  mistakes  they  thought  had  better  be  de 
cided  by  Paderewski.  He  hoped  that  our  report  would 
call  attention  to  Poland's  thousand  years  of  culture,  which 
had  made  her  the  advance  post  of  civilization  in  eastern 
Europe;  would  mention  that  she  had  ever  been  tolerant 
toward  the  Jew  and  welcomed  his  arrival  and  that  she  did 
not  forget  how,  in  the  Revolution  of  1863,  the  Jews  had 
loyally  fought  against  Russia.  They  would  not  have 


MY  MISSION  TO  POLAND  377 

done  that,  he  argued,  had  the  Poles  been  persecuting 
them.  He  said  it  was  unfortunate  that,  in  the  recent  war, 
some  Jews  had  informed  against  the  Poles  in  Galicia  and 
thereby  created  the  prejudice  against  them. 

"The  Pole,"  he  concluded,  "must  live  side-by-side  with 
the  Jew  and  wants  to  do  it  in  peace." 

What,  in  this  question  of  Anti-Semitism,  were  the  feel 
ings  of  that  member  of  the  government  who  is  best  known 
to  all  the  world?  Ignace  Paderewski  is  not  only  not  an 
Anti-Semite:  he  is  infinitely  the  greatest  of  the  modern 
Poles. 

After  my  experience  at  the  synagogue  in  Warsaw,  to 
which  I  have  already  referred,  I  asked  Paderewski  if  he 
would  not  accompany  me  to  service  some  Friday.  I  said 
that  he  was  charged  with  being  Anti-Semitic. 

"How  ridiculous!"  he  answered. 

"M.  Paderewski,"  I  explained.  "I  know  you  are  not 
Anti-Semitic,  and  you  know  that  you  are  not — but  how 
are  the  people  to  be  convinced  of  it?" 

Paderewski  at  once  saw  the  point.  He  was  anxious  to 
refute  the  charge  against  him,  yet  his  caution  prompted 
him  to  consult  his  political  associates,  who  advised  against 
his  adoption  of  my  suggestion. 

"Never  mind,"  he  reassured  me:  "I'll  find  another 
way." 

That  way  he  found  when  Hoover  came  to  Warsaw.  I 
was  then  about  to  visit  Pinsk,  and  he  requested  me  to 
postpone  it  for  a  day  or  two. 

"I  am  giving  a  state  dinner  for  Mr.  Hoover  at  my  offi 
cial  residence,"  said  he,  "I  want  you  to  come  to  that  and 
let  the  doubters  see  how  you  will  be  one  of  the  Premier's 
most  honoured  guests." 

That  dinner  was  a  gorgeous  affair.  Everybody  of  po 
litical,  financial,  and  social  importance  was  there ;  the  rep 
resentatives  of  the  old  aristocracy,  the  makers  of  the  new 


378  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

republic.  The  table  was  a  sort  of  squared  horseshoe,  its 
head  the  outside  centre  of  the  crosspiece,  its  foot  the  inside 
centre.  Paderewski  had  personally  arranged  the  seat 
ing:  on  his  right  sat  Gibson,  at  his  left  Jadwin;  Mme. 
Paderewska  was  at  the  table's  head;  Hoover  sat  at  her 
left;  General  Pilsudski,  as  Chief -of -State,  sat  at  her  right; 
and  at  his  right  was  the  place  that  the  Premier  had  given 
me. 

Few  knew  at  that  time  of  any  change  in  General  Pil- 
sudski's  attitude  toward  the  Commission.  All  the  guests 
supposed  him  still  firm  in  his  opposition  to  us.  From  my 
seat  beside  him,  I  saw  many  inquisitive  eyes  fixed  on  us, 
and  showing  their  surprise  at  my  sitting  next  to  him. 
We  were  conversing  intimately  and  almost  incessantly. 
It  was  evident  that  everybody  was  wondering  what  passed 
between  us. 

And  what  did? 

The  terrible  Chief -of -State  was  telling  me,  quite  simply, 
the  story  of  his  adventurous  life:  how  he  had  fought  al 
ways  for  Polish  liberty,  how  he  had  suffered  imprison 
ment  at  Magdeburg. 

"But,  even  when  there  seemed  no  hope  for  either  my 
country  or  me,"  he  declared,  "I  never  lost  my  faith.  A 
marvellous  gypsy  palmist  had  assured  me  that  I  was  des 
tined  to  be  dictator  of  Poland." 

I  looked  at  him  in  amazement.  It  seemed  incredible 
that  this  hardened  soldier  should  be  speaking  seriously. 

"The  palmist,"  he  continued,  with  the  simplicity  of  a 
child,  "found  that  the  lines  at  the  base  of  my  right  fore 
finger  formed  a  star.  That  is  a  sure  sign  that  the  lucky 
bearer  is  to  rise  to  mastery." 

He  held  out  his  hand  to  me.  I  could  almost  hear  the 
rustle  of  excitement  among  the  watching  guests  to  whom, 
of  course,  his  words  were  inaudible. 

The  star  was  there.     Then,  inquisitively,  I  looked  at 


MY  MISSION  TO  POLAND  379 

my  own  right  hand,  and  to  my  great  surprise  I  also  found 
a  star! 

"I  have  the  mark  as  well  as  you,"  I  laughingly  pro 
claimed,  "but  the  nearest  approach  I  ever  made  to  a  dic 
tatorship  was  when  the  British  were  expected  in  Constan 
tinople  in  1915,  and  I  was  to  be  in  control  of  the  city 
between  the  departure  of  the  Turks  and  the  British  occu 
pation." 

News  of  what  Pilsudski  and  I  were  doing  spread  rap 
idly.  Many  guests  unsuccessfully  looked  for  a  star  in 
their  own  hands,  and  then  came  up  to  look  at  the  Gen 
eral's  and  mine. 

Shoulder  to  shoulder  with  me  sat  this  man  trained  to 
fighting.  Opposite  to  him  was  Paderewski,  with  his 
wonderful  head,  with  its  fine,  high  brow,  from  which 
flowed  that  magnificent  shock  of  hair,  and  showing  those 
piercing  eyes  whose  expression  had  puzzled  so  many,  and 
whose  whole  education  had  been  directed  toward  the  evok 
ing  of  harmony.  For  years,  American  music  lovers  had 
listened  to  this  great  virtuoso  and  been  entranced  by  his 
vigorous  and  yet  delicate  interpretation  of  many  of  the 
most  difficult  and  intricate  classics.  Now,  he  was  no 
longer  living  amid  clouds  of  harmonies  and  etudes,  but 
was  second  only  to  Pilsudski  in  the  council  of  this  budding 
republic.  There  sat  this  sheer  genius — this  unstarred 
master.  He  needed  no  mark  on  his  palm,  no  divining 
gypsy's  prophecy  to  prove  that  he  would  excel  in  any 
sphere  to  which  he  might  direct  his  talent.  Twelve  or 
fifteen  years  ago,  there  was  a  picture  painted  of  him  and 
hung  in  the  Lemberg  Gallery:  it  showed  him  as  Orpheus 
quieting  the  wild  beasts  with  his  lyre.  It  was  of  this  that 
he  irresistibly  reminded  me  that  night.  He  had  under 
taken  the  almost  impossible  task  of  reconciling  the  con 
tending  factions  of  his  native  land,  and  was  eliminating 
race  hatred  itself.  From  a  chance  post  of  vantage,  I 


380  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

could  not  help  watching  the  court  he  held  during  the  re 
ception  that  followed  the  dinner.  It  equalled  that  of  Pil- 
sudski.  Princes  and  politicians  vied  with  each  other  for 
an  opportunity  to  approach  him,  and  to  each  he  gave,  with 
a  perfect  grace,  an  absorbed  attention. 

Another  of  his  many  sides  I  came  to  know.  Poland's 
financial  plight  seemed  to  me,  the  more  I  studied  it,  not 
so  desperate  as  feared.  If  prompt  and  decisive  help  were 
offered,  I  believed,  the  Poles  would  rally  and  work  out 
their  own  salvation.  As  it  was,  the  idle  people  were  los 
ing  their  self-respect  and  were  drifting  toward  militarism, 
simply  through  their  inactivity.  I  thought  a  plan  could 
be  devised  by  which  they  could  be  aroused  from  their  leth 
argy  and  given  a  start  toward  becoming  a  vigorous,  self- 
supporting  people.  I  had  great  faith  in  Paderewski  who, 
I  felt,  did  not  subscribe  to  the  militaristic  views  of  Pil- 
sudski,  and  I  thought  there  was  a  good  chance  for  working 
out  a  plan  for  the  economic  salvation  of  his  country. 

In  Vilna,  I  spoke  to  a  number  of  prominent  business 
men,  irrespective  of  religion,  in  regard  to  this  matter.  I 
asked  them  whether,  if  America  would  help  to  organize 
a  great  corporation  which  would  endeavour  to  finance 
Poland,  they  would  be  ready  to  subscribe  to  some  of  the 
stock.  I  was  somewhat  surprised  at  their  prompt  acqui 
escence. 

"But,"  I  pointed  out,  "you  will  probably  be  expected 
to  subscribe  in  gold.  Have  you  got  it?" 

"Oh,  yes,"  they  answered. 

Gold  in  ravished  Poland!     "Where?"  I  asked. 

"In  the  Agrarian  Bank." 

I  said  that  I  didn't  know  the  institution. 

Then  they  smilingly  explained.  The  Agrarian  Bank 
was  a  hole  in  the  ground.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  World 
War  these  thrifty  Poles  had  buried  their  gold,  hence, 
these  men  of  Vilna  were  ready  to  subscribe  generously. 


MY  MISSION  TO  POLAND  381 

When  I  returned  to  Warsaw,  I  discussed  this  plan  with 
my  associate  Johnson,  who  had  had  business  experience, 
and  he  became  enthusiastic  about  it.  I  then  presented  it 
in  detail  to  Paderewski,  and  his  only  criticism  was  that  the 
Poles  would  want  a  majority  of  the  stock  at  once.  I  told 
him  that  there  was  not  the  slightest  objection  to  that,  but 
that  I  could  devise  a  method  by  which  they  could  eventu 
ally  secure  all  of  it,  and  I  doubted  if  it  were  wise  to  take 
too  much  at  first.  He  then  said  that  there  must  be  an 
American  at  the  head  of  this  corporation,  and  that  he  must 
be  one  that  was  not  connected  with  Wall  Street,  but  who 
would  have  the  confidence  of  the  entire  American  com 
munity.  I  proposed  several  names,  and  we  finally  agreed 
that  Franklin  K.  Lane  was  the  best  man. 

Paderewski  asked  me  to  put  the  full  details  of  this  plan 
in  a  letter  to  him.  I  asked  Colonel  Bryant,  who  was  an 
expert  stenographer,  whether  he  would  be  willing  to  for 
get  his  military  rank  for  a  short  time  and  revert  to  his 
former  activities  by  acting  as  my  secretary.  He  readily 
assented,  and  to  escape  the  constant  interruptions  at  our 
headquarters,  we  automobiled  five  miles  outside  of  War 
saw,  gave  the  chauffeur  a  package  of  cigarettes  and  told 
him  to  disappear ;  and  there  on  the  highway,  I  dictated  in 
an  American  automobile  to  an  American  colonel  a  letter 
which  will  be  found  in  the  Appendix. 

I  handed  this  letter  to  Paderewski,  and  stressed  my 
views  that  the  mere  announcement  of  such  a  corporation 
being  contemplated  would  more  than  double  the  value  of 
the  mark  at  once.  Paderewski  thought  for  a  minute  and 
then  said : 

"Mr.  Morgenthau,  that  is  absolutely  true,  and  I  am 
afraid  that  that  is  going  to  prevent  our  adopting  the 
scheme." 

I  was  extremely  puzzled,  and  was  dumbfounded  as  he 
continued: 


382  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

"We  cannot  afford  to  have  our  marks  rise  too  rapidly. 
We  have  sold  too  many  at  this  low  price,  and  it  would 
bankrupt  us  to  redeem  them  at  the  higher  value  which  this 
scheme  would  give  them.  We  must  find  some  way  of 
disregarding  the  present  value  of  the  mark,  and  start  a 
new  currency  system." 

He  had  evidently  given  this  some  thought,  because  he 
asked  me  how  long  it  would  take  in  America  to  prepare 
new  plates  and  print  for  them  a  new  currency,  and  he  told 
me  that  they  would  have  piastres  and  pounds.  I  said  I 
thought  one  of  the  banknote  companies  could  do  it  in 
three  months,  perhaps  less.  Finally,  he  said  to  me: 

"Don't  speak  to  any  one  about  this  plan,  because  I  don't 
want  any  one  to  know  that  the  suggestion  comes  from  you 
until  it  is  put  into  effect." 

Two  days  later,  when  I  met  him  again,  he  pulled  out  my 
letter  and  said : 

"Here  I  am  carrying  your  letter,  and  am  still  giving 
attention  to  your  scheme." 

I  still  think  that  a  corporation  of  that  kind  would  have 
put  Poland  on  her  feet. 

The  time  now  approached  for  our  Commission's  de 
parture.  Our  investigations  were  ended,  our  work  was 
done.  We  considered  our  final  decision. 

There  was  no  question  whatever  but  that  the  Jews  had 
suffered;  there  had  been  shocking  outrages  of  at  least  a 
sporadic  character  resulting  in  many  deaths,  and  still 
more  woundings  and  robberies,  and  there  was  a  general 
disposition,  not  to  say  plot,  of  long  standing,  the  purpose 
of  which  was  to  make  the  Jews  uncomfortable  in  many 
ways:  there  was  a  deliberate  conspiracy  to  boycott  them 
economically  and  socially.  Yet  there  was  also  no  ques 
tion  but  that  some  of  the  Jewish  leaders  had  exaggerated 
these  evils. 

There,    too,    were    malevolent,    self-seeking    mischief- 


MY  MISSION  TO  POLAND  383 

makers  both  in  the  Jewish  and  Polish  press  and  among 
the  politicians  of  every  stripe.  Jews  and  non-Jews  alike 
started  out  with  the  presumption  that  there  could  be  no 
reconciliation.  Our  Commission  had  to  deal  with  people, 
most  of  whom  could  not  conceive  of  the  possibility  of  dis 
interested  regard  for  their  welfare.  Their  experiences 
with  the  Russian  courts  had  taught  them  always  to  over 
state  the  facts  and  when  one  realizes  that  there  is  a  conflict 
of  testimony,  and  in  most  of  them  perjury  is  committed, 
it  made  us  quite  patient  when  we  found  them  just  a  little 
less  truthful  than  our  American  litigants. 

We  found  that,  among  the  Jews,  there  was  a  thought 
ful,  ambitious  minority,  who,  sincere  in  their  original 
motives,  intensified  the  trouble  by  believing  that  its  solu 
tion  lay  only  in  official  recognition  of  the  Jew  as  a  separate 
nationality.  They  had  seized  on  Zionism  as  a  means  to 
establish  the  Jewish  nation.  To  them,  Zionism  was  na 
tional,  not  religious;  when  questioned,  they  admitted  that 
it  was  a  name  with  which  to  capture  the  imagination  of 
their  brothers  whose  tradition  bade  them  pray  thrice  daily 
for  their  return  to  the  Holy  Land. 

Pilsudski,  in  a  moment  of  diplomatic  aberration,  had 
said  that  the  Jews  made  a  serious  error  in  forcing  Article 
93 ;  quoting  that  utterance,  these  Nationalists  now  asserted 
that  neither  the  Polish  Government,  nor  the  Roumanian 
for  that  matter,  ever  would  carry  out  the  spirit  of  the 
Treaty  concessions,  and  so  they  aimed  at  nothing  short  of 
an  autonomous  government  and  a  place  in  the  family  of 
nations.  Meanwhile,  they  wanted  to  join  the  Polish  na 
tion  in  a  federation  having  a  joint  parliament  where  both 
Yiddish  and  Polish  should  be  spoken :  their  favourite  way 
of  expressing  it  was  to  say  that  they  wanted  something 
like  Switzerland  where  French,  German,  and  Italian  can 
tons  work  together  in  harmony. 

Unfortunately,  they  disregarded  the  facts  in  the  case. 


384  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

In  Switzerland,  generally  speaking,  the  citizens  of  French 
language  live  in  one  section,  those  of  German  language  in 
another,  and  so  on,  whereas  these  aspiring  Nationals,  of 
course,  wanted  the  Jews  to  continue  scattered  throughout 
Poland.  They  wanted  this,  and  yet  wanted  them  to  have 
a  percentage  of  representation  in  Parliament  equal  to 
their  percentage  in  the  entire  Polish  nation!  Finally, 
they  took  no  account  of  the  desires  of  the  Orthodox  Jews, 
who  form  about  80  per  cent,  of  their  number,  who  were 
content  to  remain  in  Poland  and  suffer  for  their  religion  if 
necessary,  and  whom  the  Polish  politicians  were  already 
coddling  and  beginning  to  organize  politically  as  a  vote 
against  the  Nationalist-Zionists. 

The  leaders  of  these  Nationalist-Zionists  were  capable 
and  adroit,  but  they  were  like  walking  delegates  in  the 
labour  unions,  who  had  to  continue  to  agitate  in  order  to 
maintain  their  leadership,  and  their  advocacy  of  a  state- 
within-the-state  was  naturally  resented  by  all.  It  was 
quite  evident  that  one  of  the  deep  and  obscure  causes  of 
the  Jewish  trouble  in  Poland  was  this  Nationalist-Zionist 
leadership  that  exploited  the  Old  Testament  prophecies 
to  capture  converts  to  the  Nationalist  scheme. 

Here,  then,  was  Zionism  in  action.  We  had  seen  it  at 
first  hand  in  Poland.  I  returned  home  fearful  that,  ow 
ing  to  the  extensive  propaganda  of  the  Zionists,  the 
American  people  might  obtain  the  erroneous  impression 
that  a  vast  majority  of  the  Jews — and  not,  as  it  really 
was,  only  a  portion  of  the  150,000  Zionists  in  the  United 
States — had  ceased  considering  Judaism  as  a  religion  and 
were  in  danger  of  conversion  to  Nationalism. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

ZIONISM  A  SURRENDER,  NOT  A  SOLUTION1 

ZIONISM  is  the  most  stupendous  fallacy  in  Jew 
ish  history.  I  assert  that  it  is  wrong  in  principle 
and  impossible  of  realization;  that  it  is  unsound 
in  its  economics,  fantastical  in  its  politics,  and  sterile  in  its 
spiritual  ideals.  Where  it  is  not  pathetically  visionary, 
it  is  a  cruel  playing  with  the  hopes  of  a  people  blindly 
seeking  their  way  out  of  age-long  miseries.  These  are 
bold  and  sweeping  assertions,  but  in  this  chapter  I  shall 
undertake  to  make  them  good. 

The  very  fervour  of  my  feeling  for  the  oppressed  of 
every  race  and  every  land,  especially  for  the  Jews,  those 
of  my  own  blood  and  faith,  to  whom  I  am  bound  by  every 
tender  tie,  impels  me  to  fight  with  all  the  greater  force 
against  this  scheme,  which  my  intelligence  tells  me  can 
only  lead  them  deeper  into  the  mire  of  the  past,  while  it 
professes  to  be  leading  them  to  the  heights. 

Zionism  is  a  surrender,  not  a  solution.  It  is  a  retrogres 
sion  into  the  blackest  error,  and  not  progress  toward  the 
light.  I  will  go  further,  and  say  that  it  is  a  betrayal;  it 
is  an  eastern  European  proposal,  fathered  in  this  country 
by  American  Jews,  which,  if  it  were  to  succeed,  would 
cost  the  Jews  of  America  most  that  they  have  gained  of 
liberty,  equality,  and  fraternity. 

I  claim  to  speak  with  knowledge  on  this  subject.  I 
have  had  occasion  to  know  the  Jew  intimately  in  all  the 
lands  where  he  dwells  in  numbers,  and  to  study  his  prob- 

i  This  chapter  was  written  in  June,  1921,  and  most  of  it  was  published  In  the 
World's  Work  for  July,  1921. 


386  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

lems  on  his  own  ground,  with  the  intensity  and  sympathy 
which  were  required  by  my  duty  to  help  in  each  place  to 
formulate  the  plans  for  his  immediate  assistance.     I  was 
born  among  the  Jews  of  Germany,  and  by  natural  associ 
ation  with  German  Jews  in  New  York,  and  by  repeated 
visits  to  Germany,  am  familiar  with  their  life  and  prob 
lems.     As  an  American  of  fifty-five  years'  residence,  as  a 
director  of  the  Educational  Alliance  and  of  Mt.  Sinai 
Hospital,  as  president  of  the  Bronx  House  and  the  Free 
Synagogue  for  more  than  ten  years,  and  as  one  who  has 
travelled  on  speaking  tours  from  the  Atlantic  to  the 
Pacific  and  from  Canada  to  New  Orleans  on  behalf  of  the 
American  Jewish  Relief  Committee,  I  became  thoroughly 
familiar  with  the  American  Jews.     As  American  Ambas 
sador  to  Turkey,  I  came  into  daily  official  contact  with  the 
Jews  from  all  parts  of  the  Near  East,  not  only  the  Jews 
of  Turkey  and  of  the  Turkish  Protectorate  in  Palestine 
itself,  but  also  the  Jews  of  Egypt,  Asia  Minor,  Greece, 
Roumania,  and  Bulgaria,  to  say  nothing  of  the  accredited 
representatives  of  the  Zionist  Party  in  Constantinople. 
As  the  head  of  President  Wilson's  Commission,  which  was 
sent  to  investigate  the  alleged  pogroms  of  the  Jews  of 
Poland  following  the  Armistice  in  1919,  I  spent  several 
months  on  the  ground  in  Poland  and  Galicia,  and  talked 
with  thousands  of  Jews  in  every  walk  of  life  in  that  great 
est  centre  of  Jewish  population  in  the  world.     They  told 
me  their  troubles;  the  indignities  and  the  perils  they  en 
dured;  the  hatred  of  their  neighbours  because  of  their  re 
ligion  ;  the  deliberate  efforts  that  were  being  made  to  stifle 
their  economic  life;  the  political  discriminations  to  which 
they  were  subjected;  and  the  social  barriers  which  did  not 
permit  them  to  enjoy  a  full  life  as  members  of  their  com 
munity. 

I  speak  as  a  Jew.     I  speak  with  fullest  sympathy  for 
the  Jew  everywhere.     I  have  seen  him  in  his  poverty — 


ZIONISM  A  SURRENDER  387 

despised,  hated,  spat  upon,  beaten,  murdered.  My  blood 
boils  with  his  at  the  thought  of  the  indignities  and  outrages 
to  which  he  is  subjected.  I,  too,  would  find  for  him,  for 
me,  the  way  out  of  this  morass  of  poverty,  hatred,  political 
inequality,  and  social  discrimination. 

But  is  Zionism  that  way?  I  assert  emphatically  that 
it  is  not.  I  deny  it,  not  merely  from  an  intellectual  re 
coil  from  the  fallacy  of  its  reasoning,  but  from  my  very  ex 
perience  of  life:  as  a  seeker  after  religious  truth,  as  a 
practical  business  man,  as  an  active  participant  in  politics, 
as  one  who  has  had  experience  in  international  affairs,  and 
as  a  Jew  who  has  at  heart  the  best  interests  of  his  co 
religionists. 

First,  let  me  trace  briefly  the  origins  of  Zionism.  I 
shall  not  attempt  to  give  a  complete  resume  of  these  ori 
gins,  but  shall  sketch  only  a  broad  picture  of  the  facts. 

Zionism  is  based  upon  a  literal  acceptance  of  the  prom 
ises  made  to  the  Jews  by  their  prophets  in  the  Old  Testa 
ment,  that  Zion  should  be  restored  to  them,  and  that  they 
should  resume  their  once  glorious  place  as  a  peculiar  peo 
ple,  singled  out  by  God  for  His  especial  favour,  exercising 
dominion  over  their  neighbours  in  His  name,  and  enjoying 
all  the  freedom  and  blessings  of  a  race  under  the  unique 
protection  of  the  Almighty.  Of  course,  the  prophets 
meant  these  things  symbolically,  and  were  dealing  only 
with  the  spiritual  life.  They  did  not  mean  earthly  power 
or  materialistic  blessings.  But  most  Jews  accepted  them 
in  the  physical  sense;  and  they  fed  upon  this  glowing 
dream  of  earthly  grandeur  as  a  relief  from  the  sordid 
realities  of  the  daily  life  which  they  were  compelled  to 
lead. 

Zionism  arose  out  of  the  miseries  of  the  Jews.  It  was 
offered  as  a  remedy,  a  release,  a  plan  of  action  which 
would  provide  a  road  to  happiness.  This  is  the  secret  of 
its  hold  upon  its  adherents.  The  promises  which  it  offers 


388  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

are  so  dazzling  that  Jews  everywhere  have  rushed  to  em 
brace  its  faith  without  stopping  to  examine  them  closely 
or  to  calculate  whether  they  can  be  made  good. 

Zionism  is  not  a  new  idea,  but  it  gained  a  fresh  impetus 
following  the  outbreak  of  wholesale  massacres  in  Russia 
beginning  with  Kiev  and  Kishineff,  and  all  through  that 
ghastly  trail  of  bloodshed  following  the  recrudescence  of 
Anti-Semitism.  The  Jews,  in  their  agony  and  peril, 
sought  afresh  for  a  path  toward  safety.  Zionism  was 
then  restated  as  the  remedy.  Theodore  Herzl  gained 
new  power  as  its  fiery  apostle,  and  Jews  the  world  over 
embraced  the  doctrine  as  a  drowning  man  grasps  at  a 
straw.  This  largely  accounts  for  the  present  intense  agi 
tation  of  the  Zionists. 

Let  me  now  define  Zionism  more  fully.  To  the  aver 
age  Jew,  unread  in  other  histories  than  his  own,  ignorant 
of  the  great  currents  of  world  progress  in  science,  indus 
try,  and  the  art  of  government,  it  is  a  blind  and  simple 
faith  in  the  imminence  of  realization  of  the  dream  I  have 
just  described  of  the  reerection  of  Zion  as  an  earthly 
Kingdom.  By  those  intellectual  leaders  of  Jewish 
thought  who  have  embraced  this  fallacy  of  a  panacea, 
Zionism  is  defined  in  more  subtle  and  in  more  plausibly 
rational  terms.  There  are,  first,  those  intellectual  Jews 
who  conceive  of  "Zion"  (that  is,  Jerusalem  restored  to 
the  Jews)  as  being  a  physical  symbol  of  spiritual  leader 
ship,  lifted  up  before  their  eyes  and  inspiring  them  all  to 
a  common  purpose;  as  a  demonstration  of  Hebraic  civil 
ization;  a  centre  from  which  should  proceed  instruction 
and  exhortation  to  the  Jews  of  all  the  world. 

This  analogy,  however,  is  not  complete.  For  these 
leaders  conceive  the  Jews  to  be,  not  merely  a  religious 
congregation,  but,  besides,  a  nation.  They  think  that 
not  merely  should  spiritual  power  be  centralized  in 
Zion,  but  temporal  power  as  well.  In  their  view,  the  dis- 


ZIONISM  A  SURRENDER  389 

crimination  against  Jews  in  other  countries  will  greatly 
diminish,  once  there  is  erected  a  Jewish  state  in  Palestine. 

This  nation  is  to  be,  in  their  theory,  not  only  the  seat  of 
a  religion  and  the  fostering  home  of  distinctive  racial  cul 
ture.  It  is  to  be,  as  well,  an  actual  political  entity,  with 
territorial  boundaries  and  a  capital  city,  maintaining  a 
temporal  government  with  a  ruler  accrediting  ambassa 
dors  to  foreign  courts  and  capitals,  dealing  with  other 
governments  on  an  equality  as  a  sovereign  state,  and  seek 
ing  to  use  the  familiar  instruments  of  diplomatic  pressure 
to  redress  the  wrongs  of  its  citizens  who  happen  to  reside 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  "foreign"  nations. 

I  say  that  this  is  the  programme  of  the  Zionists:  per 
haps  I  should  say  was.  It  is  true  that  they  have,  for  the 
moment,  altered  the  structure  of  their  dream,  to  accept  the 
compromise  held  out  to  them  by  the  Balfour  Declaration. 
They  have  stepped  down  from  their  plans  for  a  sovereign 
Jewish  state  in  Palestine:  they  now  accept  the  ideal  of  a 
."National  Home  for  the  Jewish  People" — to  quote  the 
words  of  that  declaration.  This  is,  however,  only  a  tem 
porary  compromise — a  truce.  Nothing  short  of  the  full 
glory  of  their  Zion  will  long  content  the  ambitious  apostles 
of  Zionism. 

It  is  worth  while  at  this  point  to  digress  for  a  moment 
from  my  main  argument,  to  point  out  that  the  Balfour 
Declaration  is  itself  not  even  a  compromise.  It  is  a 
shrewd  and  adroit  delusion. 

The  Balfour  Declaration  is:  "His  Majesty's  Govern 
ment  views  with  favour  the  establishment  in  Palestine  of 
a  national  home  for  the  Jewish  people,  it  being  clearly 
understood  that  nothing  shall  be  done  which  may  preju 
dice  the  civil  and  religious  rights  of  existing  non-Jewish 
communities  in  Palestine,  nor  the  rights  and  political 
status  enjoyed  by  Jews  in  any  other  country." 

The  plain  sense  of  these  plain  words  has  been  woefully 


390  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

misunderstood  by  some  of  the  Zionist  leaders,  and  wil 
fully  distorted  by  others.  They  contain  no  promise  of  a 
Jewish  state :  they  offer  no  recognition  of  a  Jewish  nation. 
They  do,  it  is  true,  apply  the  obscure  but  pleasant  name 
of  "Jewish  Home  Land"  to  the  land  which  the  Declaration 
then  accurately  defines  by  its  political  name  as  "Pales 
tine";  but  it  guarantees  to  the  Jews  in  their  Home  Land 
only  those  familiar  assurances  of  security  of  person  and 
property  which  are  the  common  possessions  of  British 
subjects  the  world  over. 

I  have  been  astonished  to  find  that  such  an  intelligent 
body  of  American  Jews  as  the  Central  Conference  of 
American  Rabbis  should  have  fallen  into  a  grievous  mis 
understanding  of  the  purport  of  the  Balfour  Declaration. 
In  a  resolution  adopted  by  them,  they  assert  that  the  Dec 
laration  says :  "Palestine  is  to  be  a  national  home  land  for 
the  Jewish  people."  Not  at  all!  The  actual  words  of 
the  Declaration  (I  quote  from  the  official  text)  are:  "His 
Majesty's  Government  views  with  favour  the  establish 
ment  in  Palestine  of  a  national  home  for  the  Jewish  peo 
ple."  These  two  phrases  sound  alike,  but  they  are  really 
very  different.  I  can  make  this  obvious  by  an  analogy. 
When  I  first  read  the  Balfour  Declaration  I  was  making 
my  home  in  the  Plaza  Hotel.  Therefore  I  could  say  with 
truth:  "My  home  is  in  the  Plaza  Hotel."  I  could  not  say 
with  truth:  "The  Plaza  Hotel  is  my  home."  If  it  were 
"my  home,"  I  would  have  the  freedom  of  the  whole  prem 
ises,  and  could  occupy  any  room  in  the  house  with  impu 
nity.  Quite  obviously,  however,  I  could  not  occupy  the 
rooms  of  any  other  of  the  guests  of  the  hotel  whose  leases 
long  antedated  mine. 

These  men  would  gladly  entertain  me  as  a  visitor,  but 
how  they  would  resent  and  legally  fight  so  unjustifiable 
an  attempt  as  my  trying  forcibly  to  enter  their  premises 
and  displace  them  and  make  their  quarters  my  home. 


RABBI  RUBENSTEIN 

A  leader  of  the  Jewish  community  in  Vilna,  who  took  a  very 
prominent  part  in  the  incidents  that  arose  when  the  Poles  took 
possession  of  the  city. 


ZIONISM  A  SURRENDER  391 

This  is  exactly  the  differentiation  in  meaning  between 
the  Balfour  Declaration  and  the  claims  of  those  Zionists 
who  profess  to  see  in  it  British  authority  for  claiming 
Palestine  as  the  seat  of  a  Jewish  nation.  The  Balfour 
Declaration  very  carefully  says:  "The  British  Govern 
ment  favours  the  establishment  of  a  home  land  for  the 
Jewish  people  in  Palestine"  But  this  does  not  say  that 
the  Jews  shall  have  the  right  to  dispossess,  or  to  trespass 
upon  the  property  of  those  far  more  numerous  Arab  ten 
ants  whose  right  to  their  share  in  it  is  as  good  as  that  of  the 
Jews  and,  in  most  cases,  of  much  longer  standing. 

Palestine  is  a  country  already  populated,  and  the  Brit 
ish  Government  has  no  intention  of  evicting  the  Arab 
owners  of  the  soil  in  favour  of  the  Jews.  Nor,  I  may  add 
in  passing,  have  the  Arab  owners  any  intention  of  selling 
their  holdings  to  the  Jews,  for  they  are  fully  aware  of  the 
Zionist  programme,  are  very  resentful  of  it,  and  intend  to 
use  every  means  at  their  command  to  frustrate  it. 

In  February,  1921,  this  obvious  meaning  of  the  Balfour 
Declaration  was  made  officially  explicit,  when  the  com 
plete  text  of  the  mandate  for  Palestine  was  first  made 
public.  After  reiterating  in  the  preamble  the  language 
which  I  have  above  quoted,  this  official  transaction  of  the 
Council  of  the  League  of  Nations  proceeds  to  enumerate 
the  specific  terms  under  which  Palestine  shall  be  governed 
as  a  mandatary  of  Great  Britain.  The  very  first  article 
of  this  mandate  explodes  completely  the  theory  that  the 
Allied  Powers  had  any  idea  of  setting  up  a  Jewish  nation. 
It  reads:  "His  Britannic  Majesty  shall  have  the  power  to 
exercise  as  mandatory  all  the  powers  inherent  in  the  gov 
ernment  of  a  sovereign  state  save  as  they  may  be  limited 
by  the  terms  of  the  present  mandate."  In  other  words, 
not  a  government  of  Jews  over  a  Jewish  nation,  but  His 
Britannic  Majesty  is  declared  to  be  the  repository  of  "the 
powers  inherent  in  ^  sovereign  state." 


392  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

To  be  sure,  these  powers  are  limited  by  certain  specific 
terms  enumerated  in  the  mandate.  Space  does  not  per 
mit  a  quotation  of  them  in  full,  but  I  would  advise  those 
interested  to  secure  a  copy  of  the  mandate  and  to  study  it 
in  the  light  of  the  claim  of  some  Zionists  that  the  Balfour 
Declaration  recognizes  a  Jewish  State.  These  so-called 
"limitations"  do  not  really  limit  the  sovereign  power  of 
His  Britannic  Majesty.  They  are  not  limitations;  they 
are  statements  of  the  direction  in  which  the  British  as 
mandataries  pledge  themselves  to  pay  especial  attention 
to  the  interests  of  the  Jews  as  a  part  of  the  body  of  the 
citizens  of  Palestine.  Except  for  these  expressions  of 
benevolent  intention  specifically  toward  the  Jews,  every 
one  of  the  twenty-seven  articles  in  the  declaration  is  just 
as  applicable  to  every  other  citizen  of  Palestine,  whether 
Jew  or  Gentile,  Mohammedan,  Arab,  or  Christian  Syriac. 
They  are  guaranties  of  civil  liberty,  freedom  of  conscience, 
equality  before  the  law,  and  the  like. 

It  was  a  politic  move  of  the  British  Government  to 
name  a  Jew  as  the  first  governing  head  of  Palestine  when 
the  British  began  to  function  under  this  mandate.  But 
this  appointment  of  Sir  Herbert  Samuel  was  only  politic, 
it  was  not  political.  It  has  no  general  significance. 

As  I  have  said,  some  of  the  Zionist  leaders  woefully 
misunderstood  the  Balfour  Declaration.  The  terms  of 
the  mandate  now  leave  to  them  no  room  for  misunder 
standing.  Other  Zionist  leaders,  however,  wilfully  mis 
represented  it.  They  knew  that  it  meant  what  it  said,  but 
they  did  not  dare  to  tell  their  followers  what  it  meant. 
They  chose  rather  to  let  them  think  that  it  was  only  an 
other  phrasing  of  their  original  programme  of  the  erection 
of  a  Zionistic  national  sovereign  state,  or  that  it  would 
lead  to  it.  These  misleaders,  being  more  vociferous  than 
their  more  honest  colleagues,  have  had  the  ear  of  the  great 
mass  of  Jews  throughout  the  world.  This  mass  now  be- 


ZIONISM  A  SURRENDER  393 

lieves  that  Zionism,  as  a  national  ideal,  is  presently  attain 
able,  if,  indeed,  it  is  not  actually  attained  already.  These 
Zionistic  apostles  are  culpable,  in  that  they  have  failed  to 
undeceive  the  masses  of  this  error.  Instead,  they  have 
capitalized  this  credulous  faith,  and  are  collecting  funds  in 
America  and  in  Europe,  ostensibly  to  finance  what  they 
call  the  establishment  of  their  dream,  although  really,  as 
I  believe,  to  finance  further  propaganda  for  their  unattain 
able  ideal. 

Having  disposed  of  the  fallacious  assumption  that  Zion 
ism  has  been,  or  is  about  to  be  attained,  let  me  now  return 
to  my  main  argument,  namely,  that  it  never  can  be  at 
tained,  and  that  it  ought  not  to  be  attained. 

Let  us  examine  the  pretensions  of  Zionism  from  three 
essential  angles:  Is  it  an  economic  fallacy?  Is  it  a  politi 
cal  fantasy?  Is  it  a  spiritual  will-o'-the  wisp? 

First,  its  economic  aspect.*  I  assert  positively  that  it  is 
impossible.  Zionists  have  been  working  for  thirty  years 
with  fanatical  zeal,  and  backed  by  millions  of  money  from 
philanthropic  Jews  of  great  wealth  in  France,  England, 
Germany,  and  America;  and  the  total  result  of  their  oper 
ations,  at  the  outbreak  of  the  World  War,  was  the  move 
ment  of  ten  thousand  Jews  from  other  lands  to  the  soil  of 
Palestine.  In  the  same  period,  a  million  and  a  half  Jews 
have  migrated  to  America. 

The  truth  is  that  Palestine  cannot  support  a  large  popu 
lation  in  prosperity.  It  has  a  lean  and  niggard  soil.  It 
is  a  land  of  rocky  hills,  upon  which,  for  many  centuries,  a 
hardy  people  have  survived  only  with  difficulty  by  culti 
vating  a  few  patches  of  soil  here  and  there,  with  the  olive, 
the  fig,  citrus  fruits  and  the  grape,  or  have  barely  sus 
tained  their  flocks  upon  the  sparse  native  vegetation.  The 
streams  are  few  and  small,  entirely  insufficient  for  the 
great  irrigation  systems  that  would  be  necessary  for  the 
general  cultivation  of  the  land.  The  underground  sources 


394  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

of  water  can  be  developed  only  at  a  prodigious  capital  ex 
pense.  There  are  thirteen  million  Jews  in  the  world:  the 
Zionist  organization  itself  claims  for  Palestine  only  a 
maximum  possible  population  of  five  millions.  Even  this 
claim  is  on  the  face  of  it  an  extravagant  over-estimate. 
After  careful  study  on  the  spot  in  Palestine,  I  prophesy 
that  it  will  not  support  more  than  one  million  additional 
inhabitants. 

Palestine  is  in  area  about  equal  to  the  state  of  Massa 
chusetts;  and  that  New  England  state,  blest  (as  Pales 
tine  is  not)  with  plentiful  water,  ample  water-powers, 
abundant  forestation,  and  a  good  soil,  supports  only  four 
million  people.  This  bald  comparison,  however,  does  not 
begin  to  tell  the  story.  Massachusetts  is  an  integral  part 
of  a  tremendously  prosperous  nation  of  one  hundred  mil 
lion  souls.  Distributed  among  forty-eight  states,  between 
which  there  are  no  political  boundaries  to  protect,  no 
fences  to  be  maintained,  no  tariff  discrimination,  or  un 
favourable  exchanges  to  be  considered,  she  enjoys  all  the 
advantages  of  a  highly  industrialized  community,  and  of 
established  commercial  intercourse  with  the  rest  of  the 
most  progressive  nations  in  the  world.  If  Massachusetts 
were  situated  as  Palestine  is  situated,  remote  from  the 
great  currents  of  modern  economic  life ;  without  even  one 
of  those  absolutely  indispensable  prerequisites  to  commer 
cial  success,  namely  natural  ports;  without  its  network 
of  railways,  bringing  to  it  cheaply  the  raw  materials  for 
its  manufactures,  and  carrying  from  it  cheaply  and 
quickly  to  rich  markets  its  manufactured  articles,  Massa 
chusetts  would  support  a  population  far  less  than  its  pres 
ent  numbers. 

This  is  the  condition  of  Palestine:  not  only  must  agri 
culture  be  pursued  under  the  greatest  possible  handicaps 
of  soil  and  water,  but  it  is  subject  to  the  direct  competi 
tion  of  far  more  favoured  lands  in  the  very  agricultural 


ZIONISM  A  SURRENDER  395 

products  for  which  it  is  distinctive.  These  are  the  citrus 
fruits,  almonds,  figs  and  dates,  grapes  and  wine.  How 
can  little  Palestine  compete  in  these  products  with  Italy, 
France,  and  Spain,  and  their  north  African  colonies, 
whose  richer  soil  lies  in  the  direct  line  of  the  great  march 
of  commerce? 

A  great  industrial  Palestine  is  equally  unthinkable.  It 
lacks  the  raw  materials  of  coal  and  iron;  it  lacks  the  skill 
in  technical  processes  and  the  experience  in  the  arts;  and, 
above  all,  it  is  not  in  the  path  of  modern  trade  currents. 
What  hope  is  there  for  Palestine,  as  an  industrial  nation, 
in  competition  with  America,  Great  Britain,  and  Ger 
many,  with  their  prodigious  resources,  their  highly  organ 
ized  factories,  their  great  mass-production,  and  their 
superb  means  of  transportation?  The  notion  is  pre 
posterous. 

I  claim  that  the  foregoing  analysis  demolishes  the  eco 
nomic  foundation  of  Zionism. 

What  of  its  political  foundations  ?  Is  Zionism  a  politi 
cal  fantasy?  I  assert  most  emphatically  that  it  is.  The 
present  British  mandate  over  Palestine  is  a  recognition, 
by  the  great  powers  of  the  world,  of  the  supreme  political 
interest  of  Great  Britain  in  that  region.  It  was  no  mere 
accident  that  it  was  a  British  army  which  captured  Jeru 
salem  from  the  Turks  in  the  late  war.  The  life-and- 
death  importance  of  the  Suez  Canal  to  the  integrity  of  the 
British  Empire  has  for  more  than  half  a  century  made  the 
destiny  of  Palestine  as  well  as  of  Egypt  a  vital  concern  of 
British  statesmanship.  So  long  as  the  Turk  was  in  con 
trol,  the  British  had  no  cause  to  fear  what  that  impotent 
and  backward  neighbour  might  do  to  interrupt  the  life 
current  that  flows  through  this  jugular  vein  connecting 
India  with  the  British  Isles.  But  now  that  the  Turk  is  in 
process  of  being  dispossessed  of  sovereignty,  and  the  fu 
ture  disposition  of  his  territories  in  doubt,  British  states- 


306  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

men  can  hold  but  one  opinion  concerning  either  Egypt  or 
Palestine,  and  this  opinion  is,  that  no  matter  what  else 
may  befall,  British  influence  must  be  omnipotent  on  both 
sides  of  the  Suez  Canal.  It  may  be  politic  for  them  for 
the  moment  to  coddle  the  aspirations  of  a  numerically  neg 
ligible  race  like  the  Jews.  But  the  notion  that  Great 
Britain  would  for  one  instant  allow  any  form  of  govern 
ment  in  Palestine,  under  any  name  whatever,  that  was  not, 
in  fact,  an  appanage  of  the  British  Crown,  and  subservient 
to  the  paramount  interests  of  British  world  policy,  is  too 
fantastical  for  serious  refutation. 

I  have  just  said  that  it  may  be  politic  for  the  British 
Government  to  coddle  the  aspirations  of  the  Jews.  There 
are,  however,  profound  reasons  why  this  coddling  will  not 
take  the  form  of  granting  to  them  even  the  name  and  sur 
face  appearance  of  a  sovereign  government  ruling  Pales 
tine.  In  the  first  place,  Britain's  hold  upon  India  is  by  no 
means  so  secure  that  the  Imperial  Government  at  London 
can  afford  to  trifle  with  the  fanatical  sensibilities  of  the 
millions  of  Mohammedans  in  its  Indian  possessions.  Re 
member  that  Palestine  is  as  much  the  Holy  Land  of  the 
Mohammedan  as  it  is  the  Holy  Land  of  the  Jew,  or  the 
Holy  Land  of  the  Christian.  His  shrines  cluster  there  as 
thickly.  They  are  to  him  as  sacredly  endeared.  In  1914 
I  visited  the  famous  Caves  of  Machpelah,  twenty  miles 
from  Jerusalem;  and  I  shall  never  forget  the  mutterings  of 
discontent  that  murmured  in  my  ears,  nor  the  threatening 
looks  that  confronted  my  eyes,  from  the  lips  and  faces  of 
the  devout  Mohammedans  whom  I  there  encountered. 
For  these  authentic  tombs  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob 
are  as  sacred  to  them,  because  they  are  saints  of  Islam,  as 
they  are  to  the  most  orthodox  of  my  fellow  Jews,  whose 
direct  ancestors  they  are,  not  only  in  the  spiritual,  but  in 
the  actual  physical  sense.  To  these  Mohammedans,  my 
presence  at  the  tombs  of  my  ancestors  was  as  much  a  prof- 


ZIONISM  A  SURRENDER  397 

anation  of  a  Mohammedan  Holy  Place  as  if  I  had  laid 
sacrilegious  hands  upon  the  sacred  relics  in  the  mosque  at 
Mecca.  To  imagine  that  the  British  Government  will 
sanction  a  scheme  for  a  political  control  of  Palestine  which 
would  place  in  the  hands  of  the  Jews  the  physical  guard 
ianship  of  these  shrines  of  Islam,  is  to  imagine  something 
very  foreign  to  the  practical  political  sense  of  the  most  po 
litically  practical  race  on  earth.  They  know  too  well  how 
deeply  they  would  offend  their  myriad  Mohammedan  sub 
jects  to  the  East. 

Exactly  the  same  political  issue  of  religious  fanaticism 
applies  to  the  question  of  Christian  sensibilities.  Any  one 
who  has  seen,  as  in  1914  I  saw  at  Easter-tide,  the  tens  of 
thousands  of  devout  Roman  Catholics  from  Poland,  Italy, 
and  Spain,  and  the  other  tens  of  thousands  of  devout 
Greek  Catholics  from  Russia  and  the  East,  who  yearly 
frequent  the  shrines  of  Christianity  in  Palestine,  and  who 
thus  consummate  a  lifetime  of  devotion  by  a  pilgrimage 
undertaken  at,  to  them,  staggering  expense  and  physical 
privation;  and  who  has  observed,  as  I  have  observed,  the 
suppressed  hatred  of  them  all  for  both  the  Jew  and  the 
Mussulman;  and  who  has  noted,  further,  the  bitter  jeal 
ousies  between  even  Protestant  and  Catholic,  between 
Greek  Catholic  and  Roman — such  an  observer,  I  say,  can 
entertain  no  illusions  that  the  placing  of  these  sacred 
shrines  of  Christian  tradition  in  the  hands  of  the  Jews 
would  be  tolerated.  The  most  enlightened  Christians 
might  endure  it,  but  the  great  mass  of  Christian  worship 
pers  of  Europe  would  not.  They  regard  the  Jew  not 
merely  as  a  member  of  a  rival  faith,  but  the  man  whose  an 
cestors  rejected  their  fellow  Jew,  the  Christ,  and  crucified 
Him.  Their  fanaticism  is  a  political  fact  of  gigantic  pro 
portions.  A  Jewish  State  in  Palestine  would  inevitably 
arouse  their  passion.  Instead  of  such  a  State  adding  new 
dignity  and  consideration  to  the  position  of  the  Jew  the 


398  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

world  over  (as  the  Zionists  claim  it  would  do),  I  am  con 
vinced  that  it  would  concentrate,  multiply,  and  give  new 
venom  to  the  hatred  which  he  already  endures  in  Poland 
and  Russia,  the  very  lands  in  which  most  of  the  Jews  now 
dwell,  and  where  their  oppressions  are  the  worst. 

The  political  pretensions  of  Zionism  are  fantastic.  I 
think  the  foregoing  paragraphs  have  demonstrated  this. 

Is  Zionism  a  spiritual  will-o'-the-wisp?  I  assert  with 
all  the  vigour  of  my  most  profound  convictions  that  it  is. 
Its  professed  spiritual  aim  is  the  reassertion  of  the  dignity 
and  worth  of  the  Jew.  It  is  a  mechanism  designed  to 
restore  to  him  his  self-respect,  and  to  secure  for  him  the 
respect  of  others.  The  means  by  which  it  proposes  to  ac 
complish  this  have  been  described  above.  How  pitifully 
inadequate  these  means  are  has  been  demonstrated. 

The  effort  of  the  Jews  to  attain  their  legitimate  spir 
itual  ambitions  by  means  of  a  political  mechanism  needs 
hardly  further  to  be  controverted  in  the  negative,  or  de 
structive,  sense.  I  prefer  to  meet  this  issue  on  positive 
and  constructive  grounds.  My  answer  to  the  spiritual 
pretensions  of  Zionism  is  the  positive  answer  that  the  solu 
tion  has  already  been  discovered — the  way  out  has  been 
found.  The  courageous  Jew,  the  intellectually  honest 
Jew,  the  forward-looking  Jew,  the  Jew  who  has  been  will 
ing  to  fight  for  his  rights  on  the  spot  where  they  were  in 
fringed,  has  won  his  battle,  and  has  found  all  the  glorious 
freedom  which  Zionism  so  impractically  describes.  The 
brave  Jews  of  England  did  not  surrender  their  cause. 
They  did  not  seek  a  moral  opiate  in  an  Oriental  pipe- 
dream  of  retreat  to  a  cloud-land  Zion  pictured  by  fancy 
on  the  arid  hills  of  Palestine.  They  stayed  in  England; 
they  fought  on  English  soil  for  their  rights  as  men.  Their 
courage  enlisted  the  admiration  of  the  nobler  spirits 
among  the  English,  and  it  allied  to  them  such  Britons 
as  Macaulay  and  George  Bentinck,  whose  splendid  elo- 


ZIONISM  A  SURRENDER  399 

quence  and  political  acumen  assisted  in  the  repeal  of  the 
Jewish  Disabilities  in  1858.  This  epochal  legislation  gave 
the  Jews  every  right  enjoyed  in  Britain  by  the  Christians. 
It  made  possible  the  splendid  political  career  of  Beacons- 
field  (for  many  years  Prime  Minister  of  Great  Britain), 
and  the  brilliant  experience  of  Sir  Rufus  Isaacs  (now 
Earl  Reading)  who  has  progressed  through  the  highest 
political  honours  of  the  nation  as  Lord  Chief  Justice,  Am 
bassador  to  America,  and  Viceroy  of  India. 

Do  not  forget  that  in  this  victorious  struggle  the  Jew 
made  no  compromise  whatever  with  his  conscience.  He 
did  not  abandon  his  racial,  religious,  or  cultural  heritage. 

The  courageous  and  wise  Jews  of  France  and  Italy  have 
fought  this  same  battle  to  this  same  victorious  conclusion. 

But  this  book  will  be  read  chiefly  by  Americans:  such 
influence  as  it  may  wield  will  be  particularly  upon  Ameri 
can  minds.  Need  I  elaborate  the  argument  in  its  Ameri 
can  setting?  The  facts  lie  upon  the  surface  for  the  dullest 
eyes  to  see  them.  Nowhere  in  the  world  has  so  glorious 
an  opportunity  been  offered  to  the  Jew.  Generous 
America  has  thrown  wide  the  doors  of  opportunity  to  him. 
The  Jew  possesses  no  talents  of  the  mind  or  spirit  that 
cannot  find  here  a  free  field  for  their  most  complete  ex 
pression. 

Does  he  seek  political  office?  Jews  in  this  country  have 
been  or  are  members  of  every  legislature,  including  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States;  ambassadors  representing 
the  person  of  the  President  at  foreign  courts;  officers  of 
the  judiciary  in  every  grade  from  justice  of  the  peace  to 
justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States. 

Does  he  seek  freedom  of  conscience?  He  may  freely 
choose  his  mode  of  worship,  from  the  strictest  of  orthodox 
tabernacles  to  the  most  liberal  of  free  synagogues. 

Does  he  seek  a  field  for  business  talent?  The  evidence 
of  opportunity  in  this  direction  is  so  overwhelming  that 


400  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

it  need  not  here  be  wearyingly  recapitulated.  The  prog 
ress  of  Adolph  S.  Ochs  from  a  printer's  devil  in  Knox- 
ville,  Tenn.,  fifty  years  ago,  to  owner  of  the  greatest  news 
paper  in  the  greatest  city  in  the  world,  is  characteristic  of 
dozens  of  like  successful  Jewish  careers  in  this  country; 
and  it  is  emblematic  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  Jewish 
careers  less  spectacular  but  equally  momentous  in  their 
own  degree. 

Does  he  seek  social  position?  Here,  indeed,  his  path 
is  made  more  difficult.  But  the  social  barriers  are  not  in 
surmountable.  Where  they  seem  so,  calm  judgment  will 
reveal  that  the  social  environment  where  this  irrational 
prejudice  exists  is  not  worthy  of  the  entrance  of  the  Jew. 
Leave  the  intolerant  to  associate  with  their  own  kind.  The 
Jew  who  has  raised  himself  to  the  highest  level  will  have 
put  himself  beyond  the  reach  of  prejudice,  and  he  will  find 
himself  welcomed  in  the  highest  Christian  circles. 

The  enlightened  Jews  of  America  have  found  the  true 
road  to  Zion.  To  them  Zion  is  no  mere  political  mechan 
ism  existing  by  the  political  sufferance  of  the  greater 
Powers.  It  is  not  defined  by  geographical  boundaries, 
circumscribing  an  arid  plot  of  ground  which  their  ancestors 
of  two  thousand  years  ago  conquered  from  its  aboriginal 
inhabitants  and  occupied  for  a  brief ,  though  glorious,  pe 
riod  before  they,  in  turn,  were  driven  onward  by  a  new 
conqueror.  To  them,  Zion  is  a  region  of  the  soul.  To 
them,  it  is  an  inner  light,  set  upon  the  hill  of  personal  con 
sciousness,  inspiring  them  as  individuals  to  fight,  each  for 
himself,  the  battle  of  life  where  he  meets  it ;  demanding  in 
virtue  of  his  own  worth  the  respect  of  those  about  him; 
winning  through  to  the  dignity  and  position  to  which  his 
native  gifts  and  his  self -developed  character  entitle  him. 
This  is  the  only  true  Zion.  All  other  definitions  of  it  are 
unreal. 

The  proudest  boast  of  all  these  men,  and  my  proudest 


ZIONISM  A  SURRENDER  401 

boast,  is:  "I  am  an  American."  None  of  us  would  deny 
our  race  or  faith.  We  are  Jews  by  blood.  We  are  Jews, 
though  of  various  sects,  by  religion.  But  as  for  me  (and 
here  I  am  sure  I  speak  for  a  vast  body  of  Jews  in  the 
United  States),  if  I  were  pressed  to  define  myself  by  any 
single  appellation,  I  would  unhesitatingly  select  the  one 
word  American.  Neither  I  nor  the  humblest  worshipper 
in  the  most  orthodox  congregation  can  hope  for  anything 
from  Zionism  that  is  not  already  ours  in  virtue  of  our  par 
ticipation  in  the  freedom  of  America.  And  neither  of  us 
need  make  the  smallest  compromise  with  any  conviction 
that  we  hold  dear.  I  have  found  it  more  convenient  (as 
well  as  quite  within  the  approval  of  what  I  regard  as  my 
somewhat  more  enlightened  conscience)  to  cast  off  the 
other  symbols  of  the  Hebraic  faith,  such  as  the  Kosher 
observances,  the  untouched  beard,  and  the  distinctive 
dress;  but  there  are  thousands  of  Russian  Jews  in  the 
United  States  to-day  who  retain  these  excrescences  of 
antiquity,  with  only  a  small  inconvenience  that  is  certainly 
very  far  short  of  persecution.  From  observation  and  ex 
perience  I  know  full  well  that  these  same  orthodox 
devotees  will  themselves  become  enlightened — if  not  they, 
then  certainly  their  children — and  will  perceive,  as  I  and 
others  have  perceived,  that  the  Mosaic  admonitions  were 
purely  temporal  devices,  expedient  truly  for  the  age  in 
which  they  were  promulgated,  useful  until  modern  san 
itation  and  modern  education  did  their  work,  but  now 
become  empty  of  those  first  values. 

Here  lies  the  crux  of  my  affirmative  argument  against 
Zionism.  We  anti-Zionist  Jews  of  America  have  found 
that  the  spiritual  life,  after  whatever  formula  of  faith,  in 
modern  times  can  be  most  fully  enjoyed  by  those  people 
who  accept  the  beneficent  progress  which  the  world  at 
large  has  made  in  science,  industry,  and  the  art  of  govern 
ment.  We  have  learned  the  folly  of  persisting  in  the 


402  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

sanitary  regulations  taught  by  Moses,  in  this  age  when  all 
civilized  peoples  have  the  benefit  of  the  more  advanced 
sanitary  knowledge  of  Lister,  Pasteur,  Metchnikoff,  and 
Flexner.  We  have  learned  the  folly  of  persisting  in  a 
distinctive  style  of  clothing,  beard,  and  locks  (imposed 
upon  the  Jews  extraneously  as  a  badge  of  slavery  and  op 
pression),  and  of  ascribing  a  spiritual  significance  to  such 
a  costume  in  this  age  when  saints  like  Montefiore  and 
Baron  Edmond  de  Rathschild,  the  great  patrons  of  Pales 
tine,  have  found  sanctity  not  incompatible  with  the  ordi 
nary  dress  of  those  about  them.  We  have  come  to  see  that 
the  worship  of  the  God  of  Israel,  the  acceptable  obedience 
to  His  will,  is  not  contingent  upon  the  clothes  one  wears, 
upon  the  meat  one  eats.  His  kingdom  is  the  soul  of  man. 
In  that  boundless  temple  He  receives  the  priceless  sac 
rifices  of  the  true  believer.  That  time  and  place  and  mode 
are  most  acceptable  to  Him  in  which  the  human  spirit 
brings  its  richest  offerings. 

It  follows,  then,  that  the  Jew  everywhere  (in  Poland 
and  Russia,  as  well  as  in  France  and  America)  can  ac 
ceptably  serve  the  God  of  his  fathers  and  still  enter  fully 
into  the  life  about  him.  We  in  America  refuse  to  set 
ourselves  apart  in  a  voluntary  ghetto  for  the  sake  of  old 
traditional  observances. 

I  have  often  used  a  figure  of  speech — it  was  brought  to 
my  mind  by  meeting  the  rug-makers  in  Turkey — as 
follows:  The  Jew  has  been  content,  in  most  lands  and 
down  the  ages,  to  be  the  fringe  of  the  carpet,  the  loose  end 
over  which  every  foot  has  stumbled,  where  every  heel  has 
left  its  injuring  impression  on  the  disconnected  individual 
strands.  What  the  Jew  should  do  is,  to  become  a  part  of 
the  pattern  of  the  carpet  itself:  weave  himself  into  the 
very  warp  and  woof  of  the  main  fabric  of  humanity;  and 
gain  the  strength  which  comes  from  a  coordinated  and 
orderly  relation  to  the  other  strands  of  human  society. 


ZIONISM  A  SURRENDER  403 

His  peculiar  beauties  (his  peculiar  talents),  which  in  the 
fringe  are  soiled  and  hidden,  take  on  new  value  when  they 
become  part  of  the  main  carpet ;  and  they  find  their  glory 
in  lending  to  the  pattern  a  unique  splendour  and  a  special 
lustre. 

I,  for  one,  will  not  forego  this  vision  of  the  destiny  of  the 
Jews.  I  do  not  presume  to  say  to  my  co-religionists  of 
Europe  that  they  shall  accept  my  programme.  But 
neither  do  I  intend  to  allow  them  to  impose  their  pro 
gramme  upon  me.  They  may  continue,  if  they  will,  a 
practice  of  our  common  faith  which  invites  martyrdom, 
and  which  makes  the  continuance  of  oppression  a  cer 
tainty.  I  have  found  a  better  way  (and  when  I  say  I, 
it  is  to  speak  collectively  as  one  of  a  great  body  of  Amer 
ican  Jews  of  like  mind).  In  the  foregoing  pages  I  have 
given  my  reasons  for  opposing  Zionism.  They  make 
plain  why  I  asserted  at  the  beginning  of  this  chapter  that 
Zionism  is  not  a  solution;  that  it  is  a  surrender.  It  looks 
backward,  and  not  forward.  It  would  practically  place  in 
the  hands  of  a  few  men,  steeped  in  a  foreign  tradition,  the 
power  to  turn  back  the  hands  of  time  upon  all  which  I  and 
my  predecessors  of  the  same  convictions  have  won  for 
ourselves  here  in  America.  We  have  fought  our  way 
through  to  liberty,  equality,  and  fraternity.  We  have 
found  rest  for  our  souls.  No  one  shall  rob  us  of  these 
gains.  We  enjoy  in  America  exactly  the  spiritual  liberty, 
the  financial  success,  and  the  social  position  which  we  have 
earned.  Any  Jew  in  America  who  wishes  to  be  a  saint  of 
Zion  has  only  to  practice  the  cultivation  of  his  spiritual 
gifts — there  is  none  to  hinder  him.  Any  Jew  in  Amer 
ica  who  seeks  material  reward  has  only  to  cultivate  the 
powers  of  his  mind  and  character — there  are  no  barriers 
between  him  and  achievement.  Any  Jew  in  America 
who  yearns  for  social  position  has  only  to  cultivate  his 
manners — there  are  no  insurmountable  discriminations 


404  ALL  IN  A  LIFE-TIME 

here  against  true  gentlemen.  The  Jews  of  France  have 
found  France  to  be  their  Zion.  The  Jews  of  England 
have  found  England  to  be  their  Zion.  We  Jews  of 
America  have  found  America  to  be  our  Zion.  Therefore, 
I  refuse  to  allow  myself  to  be  called  a  Zionist.  I  am  an 
American. 


APPENDIX 


REPORT  OF  THE  MISSION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

TO  POLAND 


AMERICAN  COMMISSION  TO  NEGOTIATE  PEACE, 

MISSION  TO  POLAND. 

Paris,  October  8,  1919. 
To  the  American  commission  to  negotiate  peace. 

GENTLEMEN:  1.  A  mission,  consisting  of  Mr.  Henry  Morgenthau, 
Brig.  Gen.  Edgar  Jadwin,  and  Mr.  Homer  H.  Johnson,  was  appointed 
by  the  American  commission  to  negotiate  peace  to  investigate  Jewish 
matters  in  Poland.  The  appointment  of  such  a  mission  had  pre 
viously  been  requested  by  Mr.  Paderewski,  president  of  the  council  of 
ministers  of  the  Republic  of  Poland.  On  June  30,  1919,  Secretary 
Lansing  wrote  to  this  mission: 

It  is  desired  that  the  mission  make  careful  inquiry  into  all  matters  affecting 
the  relations  between  the  Jewish  and  non-Jewish  elements  in  Poland.  This 
will,  of  course,  involve  the  investigation  of  the  various  massacres,  pogroms, 
and  other  excesses  alleged  to  have  taken  place,  the  economic  boycott,  and 
other  methods  of  discrimination  against  the  Jewish  race.  The  establishment 
of  the  truth  in  regard  to  these  matters  is  not,  however,  an  end  in  itself.  It  is 
merely  for  the  purpose  of  seeking  to  discover  the  reason  lying  behind  such 
excesses  and  discriminations  with  a  view  to  finding  a  possible  remedy.  The 
American  Government,  as  you  know,  is  inspired  by  a  friendly  desire  to 
render  service  to  all  elements  in  the  new  Poland — Christians  and  Jews  alike. 
I  am  convinced  that  any  measures  that  may  be  taken  to  ameliorate  the 
conditions  of  the  Jews  will  also  benefit  the  rest  of  the  population  and  that, 
conversely,  anything  done  for  the  community  benefit  of  Poland  as  a  whole 
will  be  of  advantage  to  the  Jewish  race.  I  am  sure  that  the  members  of 
your  mission  are  approaching  the  subject  in  the  right  spirit,  free  from 
prejudice  one  way  or  the  other,  and  filled  with  a  desire  to  discover  the  truth 
and  evolve  some  constructive  measures  to  improve  the  situation  which  gives 
concern  to  all  the  friends  of  Poland. 

2.  The  mission  reached  Warsaw  on  July  13,  1919,  and  remained  in 
Poland  until  September  13,  1919.  All  the  places  where  the  principal 
excesses  had  occurred  were  visited.  In  addition  thereto  the  mission 
also  studied  the  economic  and  social  conditions  in  such  places  as 
Lodz,  Krakau,  Grodno,  Kalisch,  Posen,  Cholm,  Lublin,  and  Stanis- 
lawow.  But  automobiling  over  2,500  miles  through  Russian,  Austrian, 

407 


408  APPENDIX 

and  German  Poland,  the  mission  also  came  into  immediate  contact 
with  the  inhabitants  of  the  small  towns  and  villages.  In  order 
properly  to  appreciate  the  present  cultural  and  social  conditions,  the 
mission  also  visited  educational  institutions,  libraries,  hospitals, 
museums,  art  galleries,  orphan  asylums,  and  prisons. 

3.  Investigations  of  the  excesses  were  made  mostly  in  the  presence 
of  representatives  of  the  Polish  Government  and  of  the  Jewish  com 
munities.     There  were  also  present  in  many  cases  military  and  civil 
officials  and,  wherever  possible,  officials  in  command  at  the  time  the 
excesses   occurred   were   conferred   with   and   interrogated.     In   this 
work  the  Polish  authorities  and  the  American  Minister  to  Poland, 
Mr.  Hughes  Gibson,  lent  the  mission  every  facility.     Deputations  of 
all  kinds  of  organizations  were  received  and  interviewed.     A  large 
number  of  public  meetings  and  gatherings  were  attended,  and  the 
mission  endeavoured  to  obtain  a  correct  impression  of  what  had  oc 
curred,  of  the  present  mental  state  of  the  public,  and  of  the  attitude 
of  the  various  factions  toward  one  another. 

4.  The  Jews  first  entered   Poland  in  large  numbers   during  the 
twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries,  when  they  migrated  from  Germany 
and  other  countries  as  the  result  of  severe  persecutions.     Their  lan 
guage  was  German,  which  subsequently  developed  into  a  Hebrew- 
German  dialect,  or  Yiddish.     As  prior  to  this  immigration  only  two 
classes  or  estates  had  existed  in  Poland   (the  owners  and  the  tillers 
of  the  soil),  the  Jewish  immigrant  became  the  pioneer  of  trade  and 
finance,  settling  in  the  towns  and  villages.     As  time  went  on  it  became 
generally  known   throughout   Europe   that    Poland   was   a   place   of 
refuge  for  the  Jews,  and  their  numbers  were  augmented  as  a  result 
of  persecutions  in  western  Europe.     Still  more  recently,  as  a  result 
of  the  expulsion  of  the  Jews  from  Russia,  on  account  of  the  enforce 
ment  of  the  pale  of  settlement,  and  of  the  May  laws  of  1882,  their 
number  was  further  increased. 

5.  Notwithstanding  the   fact   that    Poland   has   been   a    place    of 
refuge    for   the   Jews,   there   have   been    anti-Jewish   movements    at 
various  times.     The  present  anti-Semitic  feeling  took  a  definite  polit 
ical  form  after  the  Russian  revolution  of  1905.     This  feeling  reached 
an  intense  stage  in  1912,  when  the  Polish  National  Democratic  Party 
nominated  an  anti-Semite  to  represent  Warsaw  in  the  Russian  Duma 
and  the  Jews  cast  their  vote  for  a  Polish  Socialist  and  carried  the 
election.     The  National  Democratic  Party  then  commenced  a  vigorous 


APPENDIX  409 

anti-Semitic  campaign.  During  the  German  occupation  this  campaign 
was  temporarily  reduced.  At  the  end  of  the  Great  War  the  chaotic 
and  unnatural  state  of  affairs  in  which  Poland  found  itself  gave  good 
ground  for  a  condition  of  social  unrest,  which,  together  with  the 
world-stimulated  tendency  toward  national  self-determination,  ac 
centuated  the  feeling  between  Jewish  and  non- Jewish  elements.  The 
chauvinistic  reaction  created  by  the  sudden  acquisition  of  a  long- 
coveted  freedom  ripened  the  public  mind  for  anti-Semitic  or  anti- 
alien  sentiment,  which  was  strongly  agitated  by  the  press  and  by 
politicians.  This  finally  encouraged  physical  manifestations  of  vio 
lent  outcroppings  of  an  unbalanced  social  condition. 

6.  When,  in  November,  1918,  the  Austrian  and  German  armies  of 
occupation  left  Poland  there  was  no  firm  government  until  the  arrival 
of  Gen.  Pilsudski,  who  had  escaped  from  a  German  prison,  and  it 
was  during  this  period,  before  the  Polish  Republic  came  into  being, 
that  the  first  of  the  excesses  took  place.  (The  mission  has  purposely 
avoided  the  use  of  the  word  "pogrom,"  as  the  word  is  applied  to 
everything  from  petty  outrages  to  premeditated  and  carefully  organ 
ized  massacres.  No  fixed  definition  is  generally  understood.)  There 
were  eight  principal  excesses,  which  are  here  described  in  chronolog 
ical  order. 

(1)   Kielce,  November  11,  1918. 

Shortly  after  the  evacuation  of  the  Austrian  troops  from  Kielce 
the  Jews  of  this  city  secured  permission  from  the  local  authorities  to 
hold  a  meeting  in  the  Polski  Theatre.  The  purpose  of  this  meeting 
was  to  discuss  Jewish  national  aspirations.  It  began  shortly  before  2 
o'clock  and  filled  the  theatre  to  overflowing.  During  the  afternoon 
a  small  crowd  of  Polish  civilians,  largely  composed  of  students, 
gathered  outside  of  the  theatre.  At  6.30  p.  m.  the  meeting  began  to 
break  up,  and  when  only  about  300  people  remained  in  the  theatre, 
some  militiamen  entered  and  began  to  search  for  arms.  A  short 
while  thereafter,  and  while  the  militiamen  were  still  in  the  building, 
a  crowd  of  civilians  and  some  soldiers  came  into  the  auditorium  and 
drove  the  Jews  toward  the  stairs.  On  the  stairs  there  was  a  double 
line  of  men  armed  with  clubs  and  bayonets,  who  beat  the  Jews  as  they 
left  the  building.  After  the  Jews  reached  the  street  they  were  again 
beaten  by  a  mob  outside.  As  a  result  of  this  attack  four  Jews  were 
killed  and  a  large  number  wounded.  A  number  of  civilians  have  been 
indicted  for  participation  in  this  excess,  but  have  not  as  yet  been 
brought  to  trial. 


410  APPENDIX 

(2,)   Lemberg,  November  21-23,  1918. 

On  October  30,  1918,  when  the  Austrian  Empire  collapsed,  the 
Ukrainian  troops,  formerly  in  the  Austrian  service,  assumed  control 
of  the  town.  A  few  hundred  Polish  boys,  combined  with  numerous 
volunteers  of  doubtful  character,  recaptured  about  half  the  city  and 
held  it  until  the  arrival  of  Polish  reinforcements  on  November  21. 
The  Jewish  population  declared  themselves  neutral,  but  the  fact  that 
the  Jewish  quarter  lay  within  the  section  occupied  by  the  Ukrainians, 
and  that  the  Jews  had  organized  their  own  militia,  and  further,  the 
rumour  that  some  of  the  Jewish  population  had  fired  upon  the  soldiery, 
stimulated  amongst  the  Polish  volunteers  an  anti-Semitic  bias  that 
readily  communicated  itself  to  the  relieving  troops.  The  situation 
was  further  complicated  by  the  presence  of  some  15,000  uniformed 
deserters  and  numerous  criminals  released  by  the  Ukrainians  from 
local  jails,  who  were  ready  to  join  in  any  disorder,  particularly  if, 
as  in  the  case  of  wholesale  pillage,  they  might  profit  thereby. 

Upon  the  final  departure  of  the  Ukrainians,  these  disreputable 
elements  plundered  to  the  extent  of  many  millions  of  crowns  the 
dwellings  and  stores  in  the  Jewish  quarter,  and  did  not  hesitate  at 
murder  when  they  met  with  resistance.  During  the  ensuing  disorders, 
which  prevailed  on  November  21,  22,  and  23,  64  Jews  were  killed 
and  a  large  amount  of  property  destroyed.  Thirty-eight  houses 
were  set  on  fire,  and  owing  to  the  paralysis  of  the  fire  department, 
were  completely  gutted.  The  Synagogue  was  also  burned,  and  large 
numbers  of  the  sacred  scrolls  of  the  law  were  destroyed.  The 
repression  of  the  disorders  was  rendered  more  difficult  by  the  prevail 
ing  lack  of  discipline  among  the  newly  organized  Polish  troops,  and 
by  a  certain  hesitation  among  the  junior  officers  to  apply  stern 
punitive  measures.  When  officers'  patrols  under  experienced  leaders 
were  finally  organized  on  November  23,  robbery  and  violence  ceased. 

As  early  as  December  24,  1918,  the  Polish  Government,  through 
the  ministry  of  justice,  began  a  strict  investigation  of  the  events  of 
November  21  and  23.  A  special  commission,  headed  by  a  justice 
of  the  supreme  court,  sat  in  Lemberg  for  about  two  months,  and 
rendered  an  extensive  formal  report  which  has  been  furnished  this 
mission.  In  spite  of  the  crowded  dockets  of  the  local  courts,  where 
over  7,000  cases  are  now  pending,  164  persons,  10  of  them  Jews, 
have  been  tried  for  complicity  in  the  November  disorders,  and  numer 
ous  similar  cases  await  disposal.  Forty-four  persons  are  under 
sentences  ranging  from  10  days  to  18  months.  Aside  from  the  civil 
courts,  the  local  court-martial  has  sentenced  military  persons  to 


APPENDIX  411 

confinement  for  as  long  as  three  years  for  lawlessness  during  the 
period  in  question.  This  mission  is  advised  that  on  the  basis  of  official 
investigations  the  Government  has  begun  the  payment  of  claims  for 
damages  resulting  from  these  events. 

(3)   Pinsk,  April  5,  1919. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  of  April  5,  1919,  a  month  or  more  after  the 
Polish  occupation  of  Pinsk,  some  75  Jews  of  both  sexes,  with  the 
official  permission  of  the  town  commander,  gathered  in  the  assembly 
hall  at  the  People's  House,  in  the  Kupiecka  Street,  to  discuss  the 
distribution  of  relief  sent  by  the  American  joint  distribution  com 
mittee.  As  the  meeting  was  about  to  adjourn,  it  was  interrupted  by 
a  band  of  soldiers,  who  arrested  and  searched  the  whole  assembly, 
and,  after  robbing  the  prisoners,  marched  them  at  a  rapid  pace  to 
gendarmerie  headquarters.  Thence  the  prisoners  were  conducted  to 
the  market  place  and  lined  up  against  the  wall  of  the  cathedral. 
With  no  light  except  the  lamps  of  a  military  automobile  the  six 
women  in  the  crowd,  and  about  25  men,  were  separated  from  the 
mass,  and  the  remainder,  35  in  number,  were  shot  with  scant  delibera 
tion  and  no  trial  whatever.  Early  the  next  morning  3  wounded 
victims  were  shot  in  cold  blood  when  it  was  found  that  they  were 
still  alive. 

The  women  and  other  reprieved  prisoners  were  confined  in  the  city 
jail  until  the  following  Thursday.  The  women  were  stripped  and 
beaten  by  the  prison  guards  so  severely  that  several  of  them  were 
bed-ridden  for  weeks  thereafter,  and  the  men  were  subjected  to 
similar  maltreatment. 

It  has  been  asserted  officially  by  the  Polish  authorities,  that  there 
was  reason  to  suspect  this  assemblage  of  bolshevist  allegiance.  This 
mission  is  convinced  that  no  arguments  of  bolshevist  nature  were 
mentioned  in  the  meeting  in  question.  While  it  is  recognized  that 
certain  information  of  bolshevist  activities  in  Pinsk  had  been  received 
by  two  Jewish  soldiers,  the  undersigned  is  convinced  that  Maj. 
Luczynski,  the  town  commander,  showed  reprehensible  and  frivolous 
readiness  to  place  credence  upon  such  untested  assertions,  and  on  this 
insufficient  basis  took  inexcusably  drastic  action  against  reputable 
citizens  whose  loyal  character  could  have  been  immediately  estab 
lished  by  a  consultation  with  any  well  known  non-Jewish  inhabitant. 

The  statements  made  officially  by  Gen.  Listowski,  the  Polish  group 
commander,  that  the  Jewish  population  on  April  5  attacked  the 
Polish  troops,  are  regarded  by  this  mission  as  devoid  of  foundation. 


412  APPENDIX 

The  undersigned  is  further  of  the  opinion  that  the  consultation  prior 
to  executing  the  35  Jews,  alleged  by  Maj.  Luczynski  to  have  had  the 
character  of  a  court-martial,  was  by  the  very  nature  of  the  case  a 
most  casual  affair  with  no  judicial  nature  whatever,  since  less  than  an 
hour  elapsed  between  the  arrest  and  the  execution.  It  is  further 
found  that  no  conscientious  effort  was  made  at  the  time  either  to 
investigate  the  charges  against  the  prisoners  or  even  sufficiently  to 
identify  them.  Though  there  have  been  official  investigations  of 
this  case  none  of  the  offenders  answerable  for  this  summary  execution 
have  been  punished  or  even  tried,  nor  has  the  Diet  commission  pub 
lished  its  findings. 

(4)  Lida,  April  17,  1919. 

On  April  17,  1919,  the  Polish  military  forces  captured  Lida  from 
the  Russian  Bolsheviks.  After  the  city  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
Poles  the  soldiers  proceeded  to  enter  and  rob  the  houses  of  the  Jews. 
During  this  period  of  pillage  39  Jews  were  killed.  A  large  number 
of  Jews,  including  the  local  rabbi,  were  arbitrarily  arrested  on  the 
same  day  by  the  Polish  authorities  and  kept  for  24  hours  without 
food  amid  revolting  conditions  of  filth  at  No.  60  Kamienska  Street. 
Jews  were  also  impressed  for  forced  labour  without  respect  for  age 
or  infirmity.  It  does  not  appear  that  anyone  has  been  punished  for 
these  excesses,  or  that  any  steps  have  been  taken  to  reimburse  the 
victims  of  the  robberies. 

(5)  Wilna,  April  19-21,  1919. 

On  April  19  Polish  detachments  entered  the  city  of  Wilna.  The 
city  was  definitely  taken  by  the  Poles  after  three  days  of  street 
fighting,  during  which  time  they  lost  33  men  killed.  During  this 
same  period  some  65  Jews  lost  their  lives.  From  the  evidence  sub 
mitted  it  appears  that  none  of  these  people,  among  whom  were  4 
women  and  8  men  over  50  years  of  age,  had  served  with  the 
Bolsheviks.  Eight  Jews  were  marched  3  kilometers  to  the  outskirts 
of  Wilna  and  deliberately  shot  without  a  semblance  of  a  trial  or 
investigation.  Others  were  shot  by  soldiers  who  were  robbing  Jewish 
houses.  No  list  has  been  furnished  the  mission  of  any  Polish  civilians 
killed  during  the  occupation.  It  is,  however,  stated  on  behalf  of  the 
Government  that  the  civilian  inhabitants  of  Wilna  took  part  on  both 
sides  in  this  fighting,  and  that  some  civilians  fired  upon  the  soldiers. 
Over  2,000  Jewish  houses  and  stores  in  the  city  were  entered  by 
Polish  soldiers  and  civilians  during  these  three  days,  and  the  inhab 
itants  robbed  and  beaten.  It  is  claimed  by  the  Jewish  community 


APPENDIX  413 

that  the  consequent  losses  amounted  to  over  10,000,000  rubles.  Many 
of  the  poorest  families  were  robbed  of  their  shoes  and  blankets. 
Hundreds  of  Jews  were  arrested  and  deported  from  the  city.  Some 
of  them  were  herded  into  box  cars  and  kept  without  food  or  water 
for  four  days.  Old  men  and  children  were  carried  away  without 
trial  or  investigation.  Two  of  these  prisoners  have  since  died  from 
the  treatment  they  received.  Included  in  this  list  were  some  of  the 
most  prominent  Jews  of  Wilna,  such  as  the  eminent  Jewish  writers, 
Jaffe  and  Niger.  For  days  the  families  of  these  prisoners  were  with 
out  news  from  them  and  feared  that  they  had  been  killed.  The 
soldiers  also  broke  into  the  synagogue  and  mutilated  the  sacred  scrolls 
of  the  law.  Up  to  August  3,  1919,  when  the  mission  was  in  Wilna, 
none  of  the  soldiers  or  civilians  responsible  for  these  excesses  had 
been  punished. 

(6)  Kolbuszowa,  May  7,  1919. 

For  a  few  days  before  May  7,  1919,  the  Jews  of  Kolbuszowa  feared 
that  excesses  might  take  place,  as  there  had  been  riots  in  the  neigh 
bouring  towns  of  Rzeszow  and  Glogow.  These  riots  had  been  the 
result  of  political  agitation  in  this  district  and  of  excitement  caused 
by  a  case  of  alleged  ritual  murder,  in  which  the  Jewish  defendant 
had  been  acquitted.  On  May  6  a  company  of  soldiers  was  ordered 
to  Kolbuszowa  to  prevent  the  threatened  trouble.  Early  in  the 
morning  of  May  7  a  great  number  of  peasants,  among  whom  were 
many  former  soldiers  of  the  Austrian  Army,  entered  the  town.  The 
rioters  disarmed  the  soldiers  after  two  soldiers  and  three  peasants 
had  been  killed.  They  then  proceeded  to  rob  the  Jewish  stores  and 
to  beat  any  Jews  who  fell  into  their  hands.  Eight  Jews  were  killed 
during  this  excess.  Order  was  restored  when  a  new  detachment  of 
soldiers  arrived  late  in  the  afternoon.  One  of  the  rioters  has  since 
been  tried  and  executed  by  the  Polish  Government. 

(7)  Czestochowa,  May  27,  1919. 

On  May  27,  1919,  at  Czestochowa,  a  shot  fired  by  an  unknown 
person  slightly  wounded  a  Polish  soldier.  A  rumour  spread  that  the 
shot  had  been  fired  by  the  Jews,  and  riots  broke  out  in  the  city  in 
which  Polish  soldiers  and  civilians  took  part.  During  these  riots 
five  Jews,  including  a  doctor  who  was  hurrying  to  aid  one  of  the  in 
jured,  were  beaten  to  death  and  a  large  number  were  wounded. 
French  officers,  who  were  stationed  at  Czestochowa,  took  an  active 
part  in  preventing  further  murders. 


APPENDIX 

(8)   Minsk,  August  8,  1919. 

On  August  8,  1919,  the  Polish  troops  took  the  city  of  Minsk  from 
the  Russian  Bolsheviks.  The  Polish  troops  entered  the  city  at  about 
10  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  by  12  o'clock  they  had  absolute  control. 
Notwithstanding  the  presence  in  Minsk  of  Gen.  Jadwin  and  other 
members  of  this  mission,  and  the  orders  of  the  Polish  commanding 
general  forbidding  violence  against  civilians,  31  Jews  were  killed  by 
the  soldiers.  Only  one  of  this  number  can  in  any  way  be  connected 
with  the  bolshevist  movement.  Eighteen  of  the  deaths  appear  to 
have  been  deliberate  murder.  Two  of  these  murders  were  incident 
to  robberies,  but  the  rest  were  committed,  to  all  appearances,  solely 
on  the  ground  that  the  victims  were  Jews.  During  the  afternoon 
and  in  the  evening  of  August  8  the  Polish  soldiers,  aided  by  civilians, 
plundered  377  shops,  all  of  which  belonged  to  Jews.  It  must  be 
noted,  however,  that  about  90  per  cent,  of  the  stores  in  Minsk  are 
owned  by  Jews.  No  effective  attempt  was  made  to  prevent  these 
robberies  until  the  next  morning,  when  adequate  officers'  patrols 
were  sent  out  through  the  streets  and  order  was  established.  The 
private  houses  of  many  of  the  Jews  were  also  broken  into  by  soldiers 
and  the  inhabitants  were  beaten  and  robbed.  The  Polish  Govern 
ment  has  stated  that  four  Polish  soldiers  were  killed  while  attempting 
to  prevent  robberies.  It  has  also  been  stated  to  the  mission  that 
some  of  the  rioters  have  been  executed. 

7.  There  have  also  been  here  and  there  individual  cases  of  murder 
not  enumerated  in  the  preceding  paragraphs,  but  their  detailed 
description  has  not  been  considered  necessary  inasmuch  as  they 
present  no  characteristics  not  already  observed  in  the  principal 
excesses.  In  considering  these  excesses  as  a  whole,  it  should  be 
borne  in  mind  that  of  the  eight  cities  and  towns  at  which  striking 
disorders  have  occurred,  only  Kielce  and  Czestochowa  are  within  the 
boundaries  of  Congress  Poland.  In  Kielce  and  Kolbuszowa  the 
excesses  were  committed  by  city  civilians  and  by  peasants,  respec 
tively.  At  Czestochowa  both  civilians  and  soldiers  took  part  in  the 
disorders.  At  Pinsk  the  excess  was  essentially  the  fault  of  one 
officer.  In  Lemberg,  Lida,  Wilna,  and  Minsk  the  excesses  were 
committed  by  the  soldiers  who  were  capturing  the  cities  and  not  by 
the  civilian  population.  In  the  three  last-named  cities  the  anti- 
Semitic  prejudice  of  the  soldiers  had  been  inflamed  by  the  charge  that 
the  Jews  were  Bolsheviks,  while  at  Lemberg  it  was  associated  with 
the  idea  that  the  Jews  were  making  common  cause  with  the  Ukrain- 


APPENDIX  415 

ians.  These  excesses  were,  therefore,  political  as  well  as  anti-Semitic 
in  character.  The  responsibility  for  these  excesses  is  borne  for  the 
most  part  by  the  undisciplined  and  ill-equipped  Polish  recruits,  who, 
uncontrolled  by  their  inexperienced  and  ofttimes  timid  officers,  sought 
to  profit  at  the  expense  of  that  portion  of  the  population  which  they 
regarded  as  alien  and  hostile  to  Polish  nationality  and  aspirations. 
It  is  recognized  that  the  enforcement  of  discipline  in  a  new  and  un 
trained  army  is  a  matter  of  extreme  difficulty.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  prompt  cessation  of  disorder  in  Lemberg  after  the  adoption  of 
appropriate  measures  of  control  shows  that  an  unflinching  determina 
tion  to  restore  order  and  a  firm  application  of  repressive  measures  can 
prevent,  or  at  least  limit,  such  excesses.  It  is,  therefore,  believed  that 
a  more  aggressive  punitive  policy,  and  a  more  general  publicity  for 
reports  of  judicial  and  military  prosecutions,  would  have  minimized 
subsequent  excesses  by  discouraging  the  belief  among  the  soldiery  that 
robbery  and  violence  could  be  committed  with  impunity. 

8.  Just  as  the  Jews  would  resent  being  condemned  as  a  race  for 
the  action  of  a  few  of  their  undesirable  coreligionists,  so  it  would  be 
correspondingly  unfair  to  condemn  the  Polish  nation  as  a  whole  for 
the  violence  committed  by  uncontrolled  troops  or  local  mobs.     These 
excesses  were  apparently  not  premeditated,  for  if  they  had  been  part 
of  a  preconceived  plan,  the  number  of  victims  would  have  run  into 
the  thousands  instead  of  amounting  to  about  280.     It  is  believed  that 
these  excesses  were  the  result  of  a  widespread  anti-Semitic  prejudice 
aggravated  by  the  belief  that  the  Jewish  inhabitants  were  politically 
hostile  to  the  Polish  State.     When  the  boundaries  of  Poland  are  once 
fixed,  and  the  internal  organization  of  the  country  is  perfected,  the 
Polish  Government  will  be  increasingly  able  to  protect  all  classes  of 
Polish  citizenry.     Since  the   Polish  Republic  has  subscribed  to  the 
treaty  which  provides  for  the  protection  of  racial^  religious  and  lin 
guistic  minorities,  it  is  confidently  anticipated  that  the  Government 
will  whole-heartedly  accept  the  responsibility,  not  only  of  guarding 
certain  classes  of  its  citizens  from  aggression,  but  also  of  educating 
the  masses  beyond  the  state  of  mind  that  makes  such  aggression 
possible. 

9.  Besides  these  excesses  there  have  been  reported  to  the  mission 
numerous   cases   of   other   forms   of   persecutions.     Thus,   in   almost 
every  one  of  the  cities  and  towns  of  Poland,  Jews  have  been  stopped 
by  the  soldiers  and  had  their  beards  either  torn  out  or  cut  off.     As 
the  orthodox  Jews  feel  that  the  shaving  of  their  beards  is  contrary 


416  APPENDIX 

to  their  religious  belief,  this  form  of  persecution  has  a  particular 
significance  to  them.  Jews  also  have  been  beaten  and  forced  from 
trains  and  railroad  stations.  As  a  result  many  of  them  are  afraid 
to  travel.  The  result  of  all  these  minor  persecutions  is  to  keep  the 
Jewish  population  in  a  state  of  ferment,  and  to  subject  them  to  the 
fear  that  graver  excesses  may  again  occur. 

10.  Whereas  it  has  been  easy  to  determine  the  excesses  which  took 
place  and  to   fix   the   approximate  number   of   deaths,   it   was   more 
difficult  to  establish  the  extent  of  anti-Jewish  discrimination.     This 
discrimination  finds  its  most  conspicuous  manifestation  in  the  form 
of  an  economic  boycott.     The  national  Democratic  Party  has  contin 
uously  agitated  the  economic  strangling  of  the  Jews.     Through  the 
press  and  political  announcements,  as  well  as  by  public  speeches,  the 
non-Jewish  element  of  the  Polish  people  is  urged  to  abstain  from 
dealing  with  the  Jews.     Landowners   are  warned  not  to   sell  their 
property  to  Jews,  and  in  some  cases  where  such  sales  have  been  made, 
the  names  of  the  offenders  have  been  posted  within  black-bordered 
notices,  stating  that  such  vendors  were  "dead  to  Poland/'     Even  at 
the  present  time,  this  campaign  is  being  waged  by  most  of  the  non- 
Jewish  press,  which  constantly  advocates  that  the  economic  boycott 
be  used  as  a  means  of  ridding  Poland  of  its  Jewish  element.     This 
agitation  had  created  in  the  minds  of  some  of  the  Jews  the  feeling  that 
there  is  an  invisible  rope  around  their  necks,  and  they  claim  that  this 
is  the  worst  persecution  that  they  can  be  forced  to  endure.     Non- 
Jewish  labourers  have  in  many  cases   refused   to   work   side   by   side 
with  Jews.     The  percentage  of  Jews  in  public  office,  especially  those 
holding  minor  positions,  such  as  railway  employees,  firemen,  police 
men,  and  the  like,  has   been   materially   reduced   since   the   present 
Government  has  taken  control.     Documents  have  been  furnished  the 
mission   showing  that   Government-owned   railways   have   discharged 
Jewish  employees  and  given  them  certificates   that  they  have  been 
released  for  no  other  reason  than  that  they  belong  to  the  Jewish  race. 

1 1 .  Furthermore,  the  establishment  of  cooperative  stores  is  claimed 
by  many  Jewish  traders  to  be  a  form  of  discrimination.     It  would 
seem,  however,  that  this  movement  is  a  legitimate  effort  to  restrict 
the  activities  and  therefore  the  profits   of  the  middleman.     Unfor 
tunately,  when  these  stores  were  introduced  into  Poland,  they  were 
advertised  as  a  means  of  eliminating  the  Jewish  trader.     The  Jews 
have,  therefore,  been  caused  to  feel  that  the  establishment  of  cooper 
atives  is  an  attack  upon  themselves.     While  the  establishment  and 


APPENDIX  417 

the  maintenance  of  cooperatives  may  have  been  influenced  by  anti- 
Semitic  sentiment,  this  is  a  form  of  economic  activity  which  any  com 
munity  is  perfectly  entitled  to  pursue.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Jews 
complain  that  even  the  Jewish  cooperatives  and  individual  Jews  are 
discriminated  against  by  the  Government  in  the  distribution  of 
Government-controlled  supplies. 

12.  The  Government  has  denied  that  discrimination  against  Jews 
has  been  practiced  as  a  Government  policy,  though  it  has  not  denied 
that  there  may  be  individual  cases  where  anti-Semitism  has  played 
a    part.     Assurances    have    been    made    to    the    mission    by    official 
authorities  that  in  so  far  as  it  lies  within  the  power  of  the  Government 
this  discrimination  will  be  corrected. 

13.  In  considering  the  causes  for  the  anti-Semitic  feeling  which 
has  brought  about  the  manifestations   described   above,   it   must   be 
remembered  that  ever   since  the  partition  of   1795   the   Poles   have 
striven  to  be  reunited  as  a  nation  and  to  regain  their  freedom.     This 
continual  effort  to  keep  alive  their  national  aspirations  has  caused 
them  to  look  with  hatred  upon  anything  which  might  interfere  with 
their  aims.     This  has  led  to  a  conflict  with  the  nationalist  declara 
tions  of  some  of  the  Jewish  organizations  which  desire  to  establish 
cultural  autonomy  financially  supported  by  the  State.     In  addition, 
the  position  taken  by  the  Jews  in  favour  of  article  93  of  the  Treaty 
of  Versailles,  guaranteeing  protection  to   racial  linguistic   and   reli 
gious  minorities  in  Poland  has  created  a  further  resentment  against 
them.     Moreover,    Polish   national    feeling    is    irritated    by    what    is 
regarded  as  the  "alien"  character  of  the  great  mass  of  the  Jewish 
population.     This  is  constantly  brought  home  to  the  Poles  by  the 
fact  that  the  majority  of  the  Jews  affect  a  distinctive  dress,  observe 
the  Sabbath  on  Saturday,  conduct  business  on  Sunday,  have  sep 
arate   dietary   laws,   wear   long   beards,   and    speak   a    language    of 
their  own.     The  basis  of  this  language  is  a  German  dialect,  and  the 
fact  that  Germany  was,  and  still  is,  looked  upon  by  the  Poles  as 
an    enemy    country    renders    this    vernacular    especially    unpopular. 
The  concentration  of  the  Jews  in  separate  districts  or  quarters  in 
Polish   cities   also   emphasizes    the   line   of   demarcation   separating 
them  from  other  citizens. 

14.  The  strained  relations  between  the  Jews  and  non-Jews  have 
been  further  increased  not  only   by  the  Great  War,  during  which 
Poland  was  the  battle  ground  for  the  Russian,  German,  and  Aus- 


418  APPENDIX 

trian  Armies,  but  also  by  the  present  conflicts  with  the  Bolsheviks 
and  the  Ukrainians.  The  economic  condition  of  Poland  is  at  its 
lowest  ebb.  Manufacturing  and  commerce  have  virtually  ceased. 
The  shortage,  the  high  price,  and  the  imperfect  distribution  of 
food,  are  a  dangerous  menace  to  the  health  and  welfare  of  the 
urban  population.  As  a  result,  hundreds  of  thousands  are  suffering 
from  hunger  and  are  but  half  clad,  while  thousands  are  dying  of 
disease  and  starvation.  The  cessation  of  commerce  is  particularly 
felt  by  the  Jewish  population,  which  are  almost  entirely  dependent 
upon  it.  Owing  to  the  condition  described,  prices  have  doubled 
and  tripled,  and  the  population  has  become  irritated  against  the 
Jewish  traders,  whom  it  blames  for  the  abnormal  increase  thus 
occasioned. 

15.  The  great  majority  of  Jews   in   Poland  belong  to   separate 
Jewish  political  parties.     The  largest  of  these   are  the   Orthodox, 
the  Zionist,  and  the  National.     Since  the  Jews  form  separate  polit 
ical   groups   it   is  probable  that   some   of  the    Polish   discrimination 
against    them    is    political    rather    than    anti-Semitic    in    character. 
The  dominant   Polish  parties   give  to  their   supporters   Government 
positions  and  Government  patronage.     It  is  to  be  hoped,  however, 
that  the  Polish  majority  will  not  follow  this  system  in  the  case  of 
positions   which  are  not  essentially  political.     There   should  be  no 
discrimination  in  the  choice  of  professors  and  teachers,  nor  in  the 
selection    of    railroad    employees,    policemen,    and    firemen,    or    the 
incumbents  of  any  other  positions  which  are  placed  under  the  civil 
service  in  England  and  the  United  States.     Like  other  democracies, 
Poland  must  realize  that  these  positions  must  not  be  drawn  into 
politics.     Efficiency    can    only    be    attained    if    the    best    men    are 
employed,  irrespective  of  party  or  religion. 

16.  The    relations    between    the    Jews    and    non-Jews    will    un 
doubtedly  improve  in  a  strong  democratic  Poland.     To  hasten  this 
there  should  be  reconciliation  and  cooperation  between  the  86  per 
cent.  Christians  and  the  14  per  cent.  Jews.     The  86  per  cent,  must 
realize  that  they  can  not  present  a  solid  front  against  their  neigh 
bours  if  one-seventh  of  the  population  is  discontented,  fear-stricken, 
and  inactive.     The  minority  must  be  encouraged  to  participate  with 
their    whole    strength    and    influence    in    making    Poland    the    great 
unified  country  that   is   required   in  central   Europe   to   combat   the 
tremendous   dangers   that   confront   it.     Poland   must   promptly   de 
velop   its   full  strength,   and   by   its   conduct   first   merit   and   then 


APPENDIX  419 

receive  the  unstinted  moral,  financial,  and  economic   support  of  all 
the  world,  which  will  insure  the  future  success  of  the  Republic. 

17.  It  was  impossible  for  the  mission,  during  the  two  months  it 
was   in   Poland,  to   do  more   than   acquaint   itself   with   the   general 
condition   of   the   people.     To   formulate   a   solution   of   the   Jewish 
problem  will  necessitate  a  careful  and  broad  study,  not  only  of  the 
economic  condition  of  the  Jews,  but  also  of  the  exact  requirements 
of  Poland.     These  requirements  will  not  be  definitely  known  prior 
to   the   fixation   of    Polish    boundaries,   and   the    final    regulation    of 
Polish  relations  with  Russia,  with  which  the  largest  share  of  trade 
was  previously  conducted.     It  is  recommended  that  the  League  of 
Nations,  or  the  larger  nations  interested  in   this   problem,  send   to 
Poland    a    commission    consisting    of    recognized    industrial,    educa 
tional,  agricultural,  economic,  and  vocational  experts,  which   should 
remain  there  as  long  as  necessary  to   examine  the  problem  at   its 
source. 

18.  This  commission  should  devise  a  plan  by  which  the  Jews  in 
Poland  can  secure   the   same  economic   and   social   opportunities   as 
are  enjoyed  by  their  coreligionists  in  other  free  countries.     A  new 
Polish  constitution  is  now  in  the  making.     The  generous   scope  of 
this  national  instrument  has  already  been  indicated  by  the  special 
treaty  with  the  allied  and  associated  powers,  in  which  Poland  has 
affirmed  its  fidelity  to  the  principles  of  liberty  and  justice  and  the 
rights   of  minorities,  and   we  may   be   certain   that    Poland   will   be 
faithful  to  its  pledge,  which  is   so  conspicuously  in  harmony  with 
the  nation's  best  traditions.     A  new  life  will  thus  be  opened  to  the 
Jews  and  it  will  be  the  task  of  the  proposed  commission  to  fit  them 
to  profit  thereby  and  to  win  the  same  appreciation  gained  by  their 
coreligionists  elsewhere  as  a  valued  asset  to  the  commonwealths  in 
which  they  reside.     The  friends  of  the  Jews  in  America,  England, 
and    elsewhere    who    have    already    evinced    such    great    interest    in 
their    welfare,    will    enthusiastically    grasp    the    opportunity    to    co 
operate  in  working  out  any  good   solution  that  such  a  commission 
may  propound.     The  fact  that  it  may  take  one  or  two  generations 
to  reach  the  goal  must  not  be  discouraging. 

19.  All    citizens    of    Poland    should    realize    that    they   must   live 
together.     They  can  not  be  divorced   from  each   other  by  force  or 
by  any  court  of  law.     When  this  idea  is  once  thoroughly  compre 
hended,   every   effort   will   necessarily   be   directed   toward    a    better 
understanding  and   the    amelioration    of    existing   conditions,    rather 


420  APPENDIX 

than  toward  augmenting  antipathy  and  discontent.  The  Polish 
nation  must  see  that  its  worst  enemies  are  those  who  encourage  this 
internal  strife.  A  house  divided  against  itself  can  not  stand.  There 
must  be  but  one  class  of  citizens  in  Poland,  all  members  of  which 
enjoy  equal  rights  and  render  equal  duties. 
Respectfully  submitted. 

HENRY  MOROENTHAIT. 


AMERICAN  COMMISSION  TO  NEGOTIATE  PEACE 

Warsaw,  10  August,  1919. 
MY  DEAR  MR.  PRESIDENT: 

In  compliance  with  your  request  to  submit  to  you  in  writing  the 
suggestions  I  made  to  you  last  evening,  I  desire  to  state  that  the 
interest  of  President  Wilson  and  the  citizenry  of  the  United  States 
was  not  only  to  investigate  the  various  occurrences  during  and  after 
the  occupation  of  some  of  the  cities  in  your  country  as  well  as  the 
alleged  persecutions  of  the  Jews,  but  also  to  ascertain  the  entire  matter 
so  objectively,  impartially,  and  disinterestedly,  as  to  enable  the  com 
mission  correctly  to  diagnose  the  difficulties  and  suggest  a  remedy. 

Although  our  investigations  are  by  no  means  completed,  I  have 
discovered  that  some  of  the  main  causes  of  your  troubles  are  the 
inevitable  results  of  conditions  that  your  country  has  gradually  drifted 
into,  and  are  due  to  the  fact  that  the  release  of  the  various  sections 
of  your  country  from  them,  to  the  objectionable  rule  by  foreign  poten 
tates,  came  so  suddenly  that  it  found  them  unprepared  to  face  and 
successfully  grapple  with  the  complicated  problems  resulting  there 
from. 

Poland,  having  at  last  had  all  her  dreams  realized,  her  ambitions 
more  than  gratified,  finds  herself  economically  prostrate  on  her  back, 
yet  too  proud  to  ask  for  outside  assistance.  Her  splendid  pride  has 
at  all  times  to  be  considered  by  anyone  who  wishes  to  be  of  any  use 
to  the  country.  I  feel  that  Poland  possesses  great  resiliency,  and  has 
much  latent  potentiality,  and  all  she  requires  is  to  be  given  some 
confidence  in  herself,  and  to  be  shown  how  to  "help  herself." 
The  new,  proud  Polish  republic  not  only  requires  personal  liberty, 
but  as  much  freedom  as  possible  from  obligations  to  others  for  the 
exercise  of  the  same.  I  firmly  believe  that  when  she  is  enabled  to 
do  this,  she  will  ungrudgingly  grant  to  her  minorities  the  same 
privilege. 


APPENDIX  421 

I  am  anxious  to  show  Poland  how  she  can  rise  from  her  prostrate 
position  and  discover  that  she  has  adequate  strength,  with  very  little 
propping,  to  start  a  brisk  walk  toward  the  goal  she  is  aiming  for — 
self-reliant,  successful  independence.  It  has  occurred  to  me  that  if 
in  her  earliest  steps  she  will  permit  her  good  friends,  the  other 
members  of  the  League  of  Nations,  to  assist  her  with  tender  sympathy 
and  unselfish,  fraternal  feeling,  that  she  will  be  astonished  at  the 
rapidity  of  her  progress.  You  need  to  have  proclaimed  for  your 
government,  your  people,  and  the  world,  that  your  associates  believe 
in  you  and  want  you  to  become  a  strong  country,  and  are  anxious  to 
have  you  promptly  develop  that  strength,  for  reasons  too  obvious  to 
mention. 

It  has  occurred  to  me  that  what  you  require  is  a  proper  currency 
system,  and  sufficient  funds  to  enable  you  to  secure  adequate  raw 
material  and  fuel  that  will  justify  your  factories  in  starting  off  at 
full  speed  and  not  having  to  fear  an  early  suspension  of  their 
activities.  And  you  will  have  to  establish  some  institution  that  will 
restore  confidence  in  your  population  who,  as  I  am  reliably  informed, 
are  at  present  hiding,  and  therefore  not  using,  a  substantial  part  of 
your  liquid  financial  resources. 

A  corporation  should  be  organized  with  $150,000,000  capital,  the 
right  to  subscribe  should  be  divided,  one-third  to  Poland,  one-third 
to  the  United  States,  and  one-third  to  England,  France,  Italy,  etc. 
The  stock  should  be  paid  in  in  instalments,  particularly  as  to  those 
shares  subscribed  for  by  Polish  capital,  as  it  is  desirable  that  the 
Poles  be  given  sufficient  time  so  as  to  secure  personally  the  benefits  of 
the  tremendous  rise  in  the  value  of  your  marks  which  would  result 
from  the  creation  of  this  company.  For  this  purpose  I  suggest  five 
or  six  instalments,  extending  over  a  year  or  longer.  The  sum  of 
$50,000  or  $60,000  should  be  spent  for  publicity  for  subscriptions 
in  all  of  your  newspapers,  and  great  stress  should  be  laid  on  the 
fact  that  the  mass  of  your  people  is  to  receive  the  preference  in  the 
allotment  of  stock.  A  systematic  campaign  something  like  our  Liberty 
Loan  campaigns,  should  be  organized  so  as  to  create  the  proper 
sentiment  in  the  country,  to  encourage  rivalry  between  your  various 
large  cities,  and  rouse  the  patriotism  of  all  your  citizens.  Care  should 
be  taken  in  the  constitution  of  these  committees  so  as  to  make  them 
platforms  for  the  promotion  of  better  feeling  amongst  your  people. 
All  subscriptions  of  $100  or  less  should  be  allotted  in  full.  This 
would  satisfy  your  population  that  it  was  to  be  a  genuine  Polish 
people's  institution. 


422  APPENDIX 

After  a  dividend  of  six  per  cent,  is  paid  on  the  stock,  the  balance 
of  the  profits  should  be  divided  equally  between  the  stockholders  and 
the  State.  The  profits  paid  to  the  State  to  be  in  lieu  of  all  taxes. 
This  would  work  both  ways :  it  would  satisfy  the  people  that  the  State 
is  to  have  its  share,  and  it  would  satisfy  the  investors  that  they  could 
not  be  subjected,  in  any  possible  changed  form  of  government  of 
Poland,  to  excessive  taxation. 

The  establishment  of  such  a  corporation  would  at  once  create  a 
large  permanent  credit  for  Poland.  This  corporation  could  assume 
the  responsibility  of  contracts  for  large  quantities  of  cotton,  wool  and 
produce,  ships,  and  all  necessary  requirements  for  Poland's  resump 
tion  of  activities. 

Branches  of  the  corporation  should  be  established  in  all  the  large 
cities.  I  believe  from  conversations  I  have  had  with  representative 
men  in  Wilno  that  they  would  subscribe  largely  to  the  stock,  because 
I  told  them  that  although  America  would  very  likely  be  willing  to 
participate  in  the  creation  of  a  large  central  institution  for  Poland 
with  its  headquarters  at  Warsaw  and  branches  in  the  larger  cities,  it 
would  certainly  not  be  interested  in  a  local  institution  in  Wilno.  It 
has  occurred  to  me  that  cities  like  Wilno,  Lemberg,  Cracow  and  Lodz, 
etc.,  would  vie  with  each  other  in  subscribing  to  this  institution  if  they 
were  told  that  the  capital  allotted  to  their  district  would  depend  upon 
their  subscriptions.  It  would  be  safe  to  say  to  them  that  there  would 
be  two  dollars  of  foreign  capital  for  every  dollar  that  they  would 
subscribe. 

It  seems  highly  important  that  England  be  interested  in  this 
corporation,  because  if  the  United  States  suggests  its  organization  we 
must  promptly  assure  all  other  countries,  including  the  neutrals  dur 
ing  the  recent  war,  that  America  expects  no  commercial  advantage 
over  any  other  country  in  Poland. 

I  deem  it  very  desirable  that  the  stock  owned  by  foreigners  should 
contain  a  provision  that  the  Polish  Government,  or  a  syndicate  of 
which  they  would  approve,  would  have  the  right  at  any  time  to  buy 
the  stock  from  the  owners  at  from  $125  to  $160  per  share.  This 
would  serve  a  double  purpose:  it  would  do  away  with  any  desire  on 
the  part  of  the  Poles  to  have  control  of  the  institution  from  the  very 
start,  because  they  would  know  that  at  any  time  they  could  secure  the 
same,  and  it  would  enable  them  to  feel  that  this  important  concern 
could  be  made  entirely  Polish  whenever  their  strength  justified  it; 
and  the  foreign  owners  would,  on  the  other  hand,  feel  that  they  would 
receive  a  proper  compensation  for  their  risk,  and  they  would  have 


APPENDIX  423 

rendered  a  fine  service,  not  only  to  Poland,  but  to  the  entire  world 
in  accelerating  the  development  of  Poland's  economic  strength. 

I  have  carefully  canvassed  the  available  material  in  the  United 
States  for  the  president  of  this  institution,  and  suggest  to  you  that  we 
secure  Secretary  of  the  Interior  Franklin  K.  Lane.  There  are  few 
men  in  the  United  States  that  more  deservedly  possess  the  admiration 
and  approval  of  all  Americans.  He  is  a  man  who  is  entirely  free 
from  any  financial  alliances,  and  therefore  cannot  be  criticized  on  that 
score.  Incidentally,  it  would  be  of  the  greatest  service  to  your 
government  to  have  one  of  the  greatest  experts  in  the  science  of 
government  accessible  to  your  cabinet  and  functionaries.  As  you  no 
doubt  remember,  he  has  not  only  successfully  administered  that  great 
Department  of  the  Interior,  but  also  was  member  and  chairman  of  the 
Interstate  Commerce  Commission  of  the  United  States.  He  was 
selected  by  President  Wilson  as  one  of  the  commissioners  that  was 
sent  to  Mexico,  and  for  other  commissions.  I  have  every  reason  to 
feel  that  President  Wilson,  although  reluctantly,  would  consent  to 
Secretary  Lane's  responding  to  this  call. 

I  think  that  the  mere  announcement  of  the  contemplation  of  such 
an  institution  will  electrify  your  people,  and  will  replace  the  present 
pessimism  with  an  optimism  that  will  astound  all  of  us. 

If  you  and  your  associates  in  the  government  of  Poland  approve  of 
the  suggestion,  our  commission  is  ready  and  anxious  to  help  you  and 
such  representatives  of  England,  France,  Italy,  and  other  countries  as 
you  may  invite  to  join  us,  promptly  to  work  out  the  details  and  make 
this  thought  a  living  thing. 

With  kindest  personal  regards, 
Yours  very  truly, 

HENRY  MOROENTHAU. 
HON.  IQNACE  PADEREWSKI, 

President  of  the  Council  of  Ministers,  Warsaw. 

MANDATES  OR  WAR?1 

WORLD    PEACE    HELD    TO    BE    MENACED    UNLESS    THE    UNITED    STATES 
ASSUMES    CONTROL    OF    THE    SULTAN*S    FORMER    DOMINIONS 

I  AM  one  of  those  who  believe  that  the  United  States  should  accept 
a  mandate  for  Constantinople  and  the  several  provinces  in  Asia  Minor 
which  constitute  what  is  left  of  the  Ottoman  Empire. 


l  Reprinted  from  the  New  York  Times  of  November  9,   1919.    Copyright,   1919,  by 
the  New  York  Times  Company. 


424  APPENDIX 

I  am  aware  that  this  proposition  is  not  popular  with  the  American 
people.  But  it  seems  to  me  to  be  a  matter  in  which  we  do  not  have 
much  choice.  Nations,  like  individuals,  are  constantly  subject  to 
forces  which  are  stronger  than  their  wills.  The  responsibilities  which 
nations  inherit,  like  the  responsibilities  to  which  individuals  fall  heir, 
are  frequently  not  of  their  own  choosing.  The  great  European  con 
flict  in  August,  1914,  seemed  to  be  a  matter  that  did  not  immediately 
concern  us.  In  two  years  we  learned  that  it  was  very  much  our 
affair.  The  impelling  forces  of  history  drew  us  in,  and  led  us  to 
play  a  decisive  part.  If  we  could  not  keep  out  of  this  struggle,  it  is 
illogical  to  suppose  that  we  can  avoid  its  consequences. 

One  of  the  most  serious  of  these  consequences  and  the  one  that 
perhaps  most  threatens  the  peace  of  the  world  is  a  chaotic  Turkey. 
Unless  the  United  States  accepts  a  Turkish  mandate  the  world  will 
again  lose  the  opportunity  of  solving  the  problem  that  has  endangered 
civilization  for  500  years. 

The  United  States  has  invested  almost  $40,000,000,000  in  a  war 
against  militarism  and  for  the  establishment  of  right.  We  must  in 
vest  three  or  four  billions  more  in  an  attempt  to  place  on  a  permanent 
foundation  the  nations  to  whose  rescue  we  came.  An  essential  part 
of  this  programme  is  the  expulsion  of  the  Turk  from  Europe  and  the 
establishment  as  going  concerns  of  the  nations  which  have  been  so 
long  subject  to  his  tyranny.  Unless  we  succeed  in  doing  this  we  can 
look  for  another  Balkan  war  in  a  brief  period,  perhaps  five  years. 

Another  Balkan  war  will  mean  another  European  war,  another 
world  war.  It  is  for  the  United  States  to  decide  whether  such  a 
calamity  shall  visit  the  world  at  an  early  date.  If  we  assume  the 
mandate  for  Constantinople  and  the  Ottoman  Empire  probably  we  can 
prevent  it;  if,  as  so  many  Americans  insist,  we  reject  this  duty,  we 
shall  become  responsible  for  another  world  conflagration. 

Perhaps  the  most  ominous  phase  of  world  politics  to-day  is  that 
new  voices  are  interceding  in  behalf  of  the  Sultan  and  his  distracted 
domain.  The  Government  at  Constantinople  is  making  one  last 
despairing  attempt  to  save  the  bedraggled  remnants  of  its  empire. 
It  has  reorganized  its  Cabinet,  putting  to  the  fore  men  who  are 
expected  to  impress  Europe  favourably;  but  it  is  not  punishing  the 
leaders  who  sold  out  to  Germany  and  murdered  not  far  from  a 
million  of  its  Christian  subjects.  The  new  Sultan  has  given  inter 
views  to  the  press,  expressing  his  horror  at  the  Armenian  massacres, 
and  promising  that  nothing  like  them  shall  ever  occur  again.  More 
ominous  than  these  outgivings  is  the  fact  that  certain  spokesmen  in 


APPENDIX  425 

behalf  of  the  Turk  are  making  themselves  heard  in  the  allied  countries. 
Again  it  is  being  said  that  what  Turkey  needs  is  not  obliteration  as 
a  State,  but  reform. 

Probably  the  financial  interests  which  look  upon  Turkey  as  a  field 
for  concessions  are  largely  responsible  for  this  talk;  the  imperialistic 
tendencies  of  certain  European  countries  are  blamable  to  a  certain 
extent,  for,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  there  are  still  many  people  in 
England,  France,  and  Italy  who  urge  that  the  Turk,  bad  as  his 
instincts  may  be,  is  better  than  the  Oriental  peoples  whom  he  holds 
in  subjection. 

If  we  listen  to  these  arguments,  and  to  the  fair  promises  of  the 
Turkish  Government,  we  shall  put  ourselves  into  the  position  of  a 
society  which  fails  to  protect  itself  against  the  habitual  criminal. 
Every  civilized  society  nowadays  sees  to  it  that  constant  offenders 
against  decency  and  law  are  put  where  they  can  do  no  harm.  x  Yet  the 
Turk  is  the  habitual  criminal  of  history,  the  constant  offender  against 
the  peace  and  dignity  of  the  world,  and  if  we  permit  him  to  remain 
in  Europe,  and  to  retain  an  uncontrolled  sovereignty,  it  is  easy  to 
foresee  the  time  when  a  regenerated  Russia  will  again  be  dependent 
on  him  for  a  commercial  outlet,  so  that  the  dangerous  situation  of 
the  old  world-order  will  be  duplicated  and  perpetuated.  We  cannot 
hope  sanely  for  peace  unless  America  establishes  at  Constantinople 
a  centre  from  which  democratic  principles  shall  radiate  and  illuminate 
that  dark  region  of  the  world. 

If  we  look  at  the  Near  Eastern  situation  we  perceive  that  Italy  and 
Greece  are  reaching  out  to  such  distances  for  territory  and  power 
that  both,  if  their  ambitions  are  gratified,  will  find  themselves  not 
only  unable  to  govern  the  new  lands  they  have  acquired,  but  will  be 
greatly  weakened  at  home  through  expenditures  in  the  maintenance 
of  troops  and  governments  in  their  colonies.  The  danger  is  not  only 
that  the  Balkans  will  be  more  Balkanized  than  ever,  but  that  Russia, 
too,  will  be  Balkanized.  The  only  safety  lies  in  setting  up  a  benefi 
cent  influence  through  a  strong  government  in  Constantinople, 
which  would  counteract  the  intrigues  and  contentions  of  embittered 
rivals. 

A  brief  survey  of  the  history  of  Turkey  in  Europe  will  suffice  to 
make  clear  the  danger  of  accepting  in  this  late  day  any  promises  of 
reform  from  that  quarter.  I  have  always  thought  that  the  final  word 
on  Turkey  was  spoken  by  an  American  friend  of  mine  who  had  spent 
a  large  part  of  his  life  in  the  East,  and  who,  on  a  visit  to  Berlin,  was 
asked  by  Herr  von  Gwinner,  the  President  of  the  Deutsche  Bank,  to 


426  APPENDIX 

spend  an  evening  with  him  to  discuss  the  future  of  the  Sultan's  empire. 
When  my  friend  came  to  keep  this  appointment  he  began  this  way : 

"You  have  set  aside  this  whole  evening  to  discuss  the  Ottoman 
Empire.  We  do  not  need  all  that  time.  I  can  tell  you  the  whole 
story  in  just  four  words:  Turkey  is  not  reformable!" 

"You  have  summed  up  the  whole  situation  perfectly/'  replied  Von 
Gwinner. 

The  reason  why  this  conclusion  was  so  accurate  was  that  it  was 
based,  not  upon  theory,  but  upon  experiment.  The  history  of  Turkey 
for  nearly  a  hundred  years  has  simply  amounted  to  an  attempt  to 
reform  her.  Every  attempt  has  ignominiously  failed.  Up  to  fifteen 
years  ago  Great  Britain's  policy  in  the  Near  East  had  as  its  controlling 
principle  the  necessity  of  maintaining  the  independence  and  integrity 
of  the  Ottoman  Empire.  The  folly  of  this  policy  and  the  miseries 
which  it  has  brought  to  Europe  are  so  apparent  that  I  propose  to 
discuss  the  matter  in  some  detail,  particularly  as  it  is  only  by  studying 
this  attitude  of  the  past  that  we  can  approach  the  solution  of  the 
Turkish  problem  of  the  present. 

From  1853  to  1856  Great  Britain  and  France  fought  a  terrible, 
devastating  war,  the  one  purpose  of  which  was  to  maintain  the 
independence  of  Turkey.  At  this  time  the  British  public  had  before 
them  the  Turkish  problem  in  almost  the  same  form  as  that  which  it 
manifests  to-day.  As  now,  the  issue  turned  upon  whether  they  should 
regard  this  question  from  the  standpoint  of  civilization  and  decency, 
or  from  the  standpoint  of  national  advantage  and  political  expediency. 

The  character  of  the  Turk  was  the  same  in  1853  that  it  is  now;  he 
was  just  as  incapable  politically  then  as  he  is  to-day;  his  attitude 
toward  the  Christian  populations  whom  the  accident  of  history  had 
placed  in  his  power  was  identically  the  same  as  it  is  now.  These 
populations  were  merely  "filthy  infidels/'  hated  by  Allah,  having  no 
rights  to  their  own  lives  or  property,  who  would  be  permitted  to  live 
only  as  slaves  of  the  mighty  Mussulman,  and  who  could  be  tortured 
and  murdered  at  will.  All  European  statesmen  knew  in  1852  that 
the  ultimate  disappearance  of  the  Ottoman  Empire  was  inevitable; 
all  understood  that  it  was  only  the  support  of  certain  European 
powers  that  permitted  it  to  exist,  even  temporarily. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  Czar  Nicholas  I  applied  to  Turkey  the 
name  "sick  man  of  the  East,"  which  has  ever  since  been  accepted  as  an 
accurate  description  of  its  political  and  social  status.  The  point 
which  I  wish  to  make  here  is  that  that  phrase  is  just  as  appropriate 
to-day  as  it  was  then.  The  Turk  had  long  since  learned  the  great 


APPENDIX  427 

resources  of  Ottoman  statesmanship — the  adroit  balancing  of  one 
European  power  against  another  as  the  one  security  of  his  own 
existence. 

Yet,  there  was  then  a  school  of  statesmanship,  headed  by  Palmer 
ston,  which  declared  that  the  preservation  of  this  decrepit  power  was 
the  indispensable  point  in  British  foreign  policy.  These  men  were 
as  realistic  in  their  policies  as  Bismarck  himself.  Outwardly  they 
expressed  their  faith  in  the  Turk;  they  publicly  pictured  him  as  a 
charming  and  chivalrous  gentleman;  they  declared  that  the  stories  of 
his  brutality  were  fabrications;  and  they  asserted  that,  once  given  an 
opportunity,  the  Turkish  Empire  would  regain  its  splendour  and 
become  a  headquarters  of  intelligence  and  toleration.  Lord  Palmer- 
ston  simply  outdid  himself  in  his  adulation  of  the  Turk.  He  publicly 
denounced  the  Christian  populations  of  Turkey;  the  stories  of  their 
sufferings  he  declared  to  be  the  most  absurd  nonsense;  he  warned  the 
British  public  against  being  led  astray  by  cheap  sentimentality  in 
dealing  with  the  Turkish  problem. 

To  what  extent  Palmerston  and  his  associates  believed  their  own 
statements  is  not  clear;  they  were  trained  in  a  school  of  statesman 
ship  which  taught  that  it  was  well  to  believe  what  it  was  convenient 
to  believe.  The  fact  was,  of  course,  that  the  British  public  was  under 
no  particular  hallucinations  about  the  Turk.  But  its  mind  was  filled 
with  a  great  obsession  and  a  great  fear.  The  thing  that  paralyzed 
its  moral  sense  was  the  steady  progress  of  Russia. 

This  power,  starting  as  a  landlocked  nation,  had  gradually  pushed 
her  way  to  the  Black  Sea.  There  was  something  in  her  steady 
progress  southward  that  seemed  almost  as  inevitable  as  fate.  That 
Russia  was  determined  to  obtain  Constantinople  and  become  heir  to 
the  Sultan's  empire  was  the  conviction  that  obsessed  the  British 
mind.  Once  this  happened,  the  Palmerston  school  declared,  the 
British  Empire  would  come  speedily  to  an  end.  It  is  almost  im 
possible  for  us  of  this  generation  to  conceive  the  extent  to  which 
this  fear  of  Russia  laid  hold  of  the  British  mind.  It  dogged  all  the 
thoughts  of  British  statesmen  and  British  publicists.  There  appeared 
to  be  only  one  way  of  checking  Russia  and  protecting  the  British 
fireside — that  was  to  preserve  the  Turkish  Empire.  England  believed 
that,  as  long  as  the  Sultan  ruled  at  Constantinople,  the  Russian 
could  never  occupy  that  capital  and  from  it  menace  the  British  Em 
pire. 

Thus  British  enthusiasm  for  Turkey  was  merely  an  expression  of 


428  APPENDIX 

hatred  and  fear  of  Russia.  It  was  this  that  led  British  statesmen  to 
disregard  the  humane  principles  involved  and  adopt  the  course  that 
apparently  promoted  the  national  advantage.  The  English  situation 
of  1853  presented  in  particularly  acute  form  that  question  which  has 
always  troubled  statesmen:  Is  there  any  such  thing  as  principle  in 
the  conduct  of  a  nation,  or  is  a  country  justified  always  in  adopting 
the  course  that  best  promotes  its  interests  or  which  seems  to  do  so? 
As  applied  to  Turkey  it  was  this:  Was  it  Great  Britain's  duty  to 
protect  the  Christians  against  the  murderous  attacks  of  the  Moham 
medans,  or  should  she  shut  her  eyes  to  their  sufferings  so  long  as  this 
course  proved  profitable  politically? 

I  should  be  doing  an  injustice  to  England  did  I  not  point  out  that 
the  British  public  has  always  been  divided  on  this  issue.  One  side 
has  always  insisted  on  regarding  the  Turkish  problem  as  a  matter 
simply  of  expediency,  while  another  has  insisted  on  solving  it  on  the 
ground  of  justice  and  right.  The  party  of  humanity  existed  in  the 
days  of  the  Crimean  war.  Their  leaders  were  Richard  Cobden  and 
John  Bright — men  who  formed  the  vanguard  in  that  group  of 
British  statesmen  who  insisted  on  regarding  public  questions  from 
other  than  materialistic  standpoints. 

Cobden  and  Bright  saw  in  the  Ottoman  question,  as  it  presented 
itself  in  1853,  not  chiefly  a  problem  in  the  balance  of  power,  but  one 
that  affected  the  lives  of  millions  of  human  beings.  It  was  not  the 
threatened  aggression  of  Russia  that  disturbed  them;  their  eyes  were 
fixed  rather  on  the  Christian  populations  that  were  being  daily  tortured 
under  Turkish  rule.  They  demanded  a  solution  of  the  Eastern  ques 
tion  in  the  way  that  would  best  promote  the  welfare  of  the  Armenians, 
Greeks,  Syrians,  and  Jews,  whom  the  Sultan  had  maltreated  for 
centuries.  They  cared  little  for  the  future  of  Constantinople;  they 
cared  much  for  the  future  of  these  persecuted  peoples.  They  there 
fore  took  what  was,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  the  unpopular  side  in  that  day. 
They  opposed  the  mad  determination  of  the  British  public  to  go  to 
war  for  the  sake  of  maintaining  the  Turkish  Empire. 

The  greatest  speech  John  Bright  ever  made  was  against  the 
Crimean  War.  "That  terrible  oppression,  that  multitudinous  crime 
which  we  call  the  Ottoman  Empire,"  was  his  description  of  the  coun 
try  which  Palmerston  so  greatly  admired.  Richard  Cobden  had 
studied  conditions  at  first  hand  and  had  reached  a  conclusion  iden 
tically  the  same  as  that  of  my  friend  whom  I  have  already  quoted — 
that  is,  that  Turkey  was  not  reformable.  He  ridiculed  the  fear  that 
everywhere  prevailed  against  Russia,  denied  that  Russia's  prosperity 


APPENDIX  429 

as  a  nation  necessarily  endangered  Great  Britain,  declared  that  the 
Turkish  Empire  could  not  be  maintained,  and  that,  even  though  it 
could  be,  it  was  not  worth  preserving. 

"You  must  address  yourselves,"  said  Cobden,  "as  men  of  sense 
and  men  of  energy  to  the  question — What  are  you  to  do  with  the 
Christian  population?  For  Mohammedanism  cannot  be  maintained, 
and  I  should  be  sorry  to  see  this  country  fighting  for  the  maintenance 
of  Mohammedanism.  .  .  .  You  may  keep  Turkey  on  the  map  of 
Europe,  you  may  call  the  country  by  the  name  of  Turkey  if  you 
like,  but  do  not  think  that  you  can  keep  up  the  Mohammedan  rule  in 
the  country." 

These  were  about  the  mightiest  voices  in  England  at  that  time,  but 
even  Cobden  and  Bright  were  wildly  abused  for  maintaining  that  the 
Eastern  question  was  primarily  a  problem  in  ethics.  In  order  to 
preserve  this  hideous  anachronism  England  fought  a  bloody  and 
disastrous  war.  I  presume  most  Englishmen  to-day  regard  the 
Crimean  War  as  about  the  most  wicked  and  futile  in  their  national 
existence.  When  the  whole  thing  was  over,  a  witty  Frenchman 
summed  up  the  performance  by  saying:  "If  we  read  the  treaty  of 
peace,  there  are  no  visible  signs  to  show  who  were  the  conquerors 
and  who  the  vanquished."  There  was  only  one  power  which  could 
view  the  results  with  much  satisfaction;  that  was  Turkey.  The 
Treaty  of  Paris  specifically  guaranteed  her  independence  and  integ 
rity.  It  shut  the  Black  Sea  to  naval  vessels,  thus  protecting  Turkey 
from  attack  by  Russia.  Worst  of  all,  it  left  the  Sultan's  Christian 
subjects  absolutely  in  his  power. 

The  Sultan  did,  indeed,  promise  reforms — but  he  merely  promised 
them.  Despite  experience  to  the  contrary,  the  British  and  French 
diplomats  blandly  accepted  this  promise  as  equivalent  to  performance. 
It  is  painful  to  look  back  to  this  year  1856;  to  realize  that  France 
and  England,  having  defeated  Russia,  had  a  free  hand  to  solve  the 
Ottoman  problem,  and  that  they  refrained  from  doing  so.  That 
absurd  prepossession  that  this  oriental  empire  must  be  preserved  in 
Europe  simply  as  a  buffer  state  against  the  progress  of  Russia 
entirely  controlled  the  minds  of  British  statesmen — and  millions  of 
Christian  people  were  left  to  their  fate. 

What  that  fate  was  we  all  know.  The  Sultan's  promises  of  reform, 
never  made  in  good  faith,  were  immediately  disregarded.  Pillage, 
massacre,  and  lust  continued  to  be  the  chief  instruments  used  by  the 
Sublime  Porte  in  governing  its  subject  peoples.  Again  the  Sultan 
maintained  his  throne  by  playing  off  one  European  power  against 


430  APPENDIX 

another.  The  "settlement"  of  the  Eastern  problem  which  had  been 
provided  by  the  Crimean  War  lasted  until  1876. 

These  twenty  years  were  not  quiet  ones  in  the  Ottoman  dominions ; 
they  were  a  time  of  constant  misery  and  torture  for  the  abandoned 
Christian  populations.  Great  Britain  and  France  learned  precisely 
what  the  "integrity  and  independence  of  the  Ottoman  Empire"  meant 
in  1876,  when  stories  of  the  Bulgarian  massacres  again  reached 
Europe.  Once  more  Europe  faced  this  everlasting  question  of  the 
Turk  in  precisely  the  same  form  as  in  1856.  Again  the  British  people 
had  to  decide  between  expediency  and  principle  in  deciding  the  future 
of  Turkey.  Again  the  British  public  divided  into  two  groups. 
Palmerston  was  dead,  but  his  animosity  to  Russia  and  his  fondness 
for  the  Turk  had  become  the  inheritance  of  Disraeli.  With  this 
statesman,  as  with  his  predecessor,  Turkey  was  a  nation  that  must  be 
preserved,  whatever  might  be  the  lot  of  her  suffering  Christians. 
The  other  part,  that  played  by  Cobden  and  Bright  in  1856,  was  now 
played  by  Gladstone. 

"The  greatest  triumph  of  our  time/'  said  Gladstone  in  1870,  "will 
be  the  enthronement  of  the  idea  of  public  right  as  the  governing  idea 
of  European  politics."  And  Gladstone  now  proposed  to  apply  his 
lofty  principles  to  this  new  Turkish  crisis.  Many  of  us  remember 
the  attitude  of  the  Disraeli  Government  in  those  days.  We  are  still 
proud  of  the  part  played  by  two  Americans,  McGahan,  a  newspaper 
correspondent,  and  Schuyler,  the  American  Consul  at  Constan 
tinople,  in  bringing  the  real  facts  to  the  attention  of  the  civilized 
world. 

Until  these  men  published  the  results  of  their  investigations  the 
Disraeli  Government  branded  all  the  reports  of  Bulgarian  atrocities 
as  lies.  "Coffee-house  babble"  was  the  term  applied  by  Disraeli  to 
these  reports,  while  Lord  Salisbury,  in  a  public  address,  lauded  the 
personal  character  of  the  Sultan.  But  these  two  Americans  showed 
that  the  Bulgarian  reports  were  not  idle  gossip.  They  furnished 
Gladstone  his  material  for  his  famous  Bulgarian  pamphlet,  in  which 
he  propounded  the  only  solution  of  the  Turkish  problem  that  should 
satisfy  the  conscience  of  the  British  people.  His  words,  uttered  in 
1876,  are  just  as  timely  now  as  they  were  then. 

"Let  the  Turks  now  carry  away  their  abuses  in  the  only  possible 
manner,  namely,  by  carrying  away  themselves.  Their  Zaptiehs  and 
their  Mudirs,  their  Bimbashis  and  their  Yugbashis,  their  Kaimakans 
and  their  Pashas,  one  and  all,  bag  and  baggage,  shall,  I  hope,  clear 
out  from  the  province  they  have  desolated  and  profaned." 


APPENDIX  431 

Gladstone's  denunciation  stirred  the  British  conscience  to  its  depths. 
The  finer  side  of  the  British  character  manifested  itself;  the  public 
conscience  had  made  great  advances  since  1856,  and  the  masses  of 
the  British  people  began  to  see  the  Ottoman  problem  in  its  true  light. 
Consequently,  when  Russia  intervened  in  behalf  of  the  Bulgarians 
and  other  persecuted  peoples,  England  did  not  commit  the  fearful 
mistake  of  1853 — she  did  not  go  to  war  to  prevent  the  intervention. 
British  public  opinion  at  first  applauded  the  Russian  armies;  when, 
however,  the  Czar's  forces  approached  Constantinople,  the  old  dread 
of  Crimean  days  seized  the  British  public  once  more.  Again  English 
men  forgot  the  miseries  of  the  Christians  and  began  to  see  the  spectre 
of  Russia  seated  at  Constantinople.  Again  Great  Britain  began  to 
prepare  for  war;  the  British  fleet  passed  the  Dardanelles  and  anchored 
off  Constantinople.  England  again  declared  that  the  safety  of  her 
empire  demanded  the  preservation  of  Turkey,  and  gave  Russia  the 
option  of  war  or  a  congress  at  which  the  treaty  she  had  made  with 
Turkey  should  be  revised. 

Russia  accepted  the  latter  alternative,  and  the  Congress  of  Berlin 
was  the  result.  This  Congress  could  have  freed  all  the  subject  peo 
ples  and  solved  the  Eastern  question,  but  again  civilized  Europe  threw 
away  the  opportunity.  At  this  Congress  England,  in  the  person  of 
Disraeli,  became  the  Sultan's  advocate,  and  again  the  Sultan  came 
out  victorious.  Certain  territories  he  lost,  it  is  true,  but  Constanti 
nople  was  left  in  his  hands  and  a  great  area  of  the  Balkans  and  the 
larger  part  of  Asia  Minor.  As  for  the  Armenians,  the  Syrians,  the 
Greeks,  and  the  Macedonians,  the  world  once  more  accepted  from 
Turkey  promises  of  reform.  Thus  Gladstone  and  the  most  enlight 
ened  opinion  in  England  lost  their  battle,  and  British  authority  again 
became  the  instrument  for  preserving  that  "terrible  oppression,  that 
multitudinous  crime  which  we  call  the  Ottoman  Empire." 

Had  it  not  been  for  the  Congress  of  Berlin  it  is  possible  that  we 
should  never  have  had  the  world  war.  The  treaty  let  Austria  into 
Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  and  so  laid  the  basis  for  the  ultimatum  of 
July  22,  1914.  It  failed  to  settle  the  fate  of  Macedonia,  and  so  made 
inevitable  the  Balkan  wars.  By  leaving  Turkey  an  independent 
sovereignty,  with  its  capital  on  the  Bosphorus,  it  made  possible  the 
intrigues  of  Germany  for  a  great  Oriental  empire.  No  wonder  Glad 
stone  denounced  it  as  an  "insane  covenant"  and  "the  most  deplorable 
chapter  in  our  foreign  policy  since  the  peace  of  1815." 

"The  plenipotentiaries,"  he  said,  "have  spoken  in  the  terms  of 
Metternich  rather  than  those  of  Canning.  ...  It  was  their  part 


432  APPENDIX 

to  take  the  side  of  liberty — as  a  matter  of  fact,  they  took  the  side  of 
servitude/' 

The  greatest  sufferers,  as  always,  were  the  Christian  populations. 
The  Sultan  treated  his  promises  of  1878  precisely  as  he  had  treated 
those  of  1856.  It  was  after  this  treaty,  indeed,  that  Abdul  Hamid 
adopted  his  systematic  plan  of  solving  the  Armenian  problem  by 
massacring  all  the  Armenians.  The  condition  of  the  subject  peoples 
became  worse  as  years  went  on,  until  finally,  in  1915,  we  had  the  most 
terrible  persecutions  in  history. 

The  Russian  terror,  if  it  ever  was  a  terror,  has  disappeared. 
England  no  longer  fears  a  Russia  stationed  at  Constantinople  and 
threatening  her  Indian  Empire.  The  once  mighty  giant  now  lies  a 
hopelessly  crippled  invalid,  utterly  incapable  of  aggressive  action 
against  any  nation.  What  her  fate  will  be  no  one  knows.  What  is 
certain,  however,  is  that  the  old  Czaristic  empire,  constantly  bent  on 
military  aggression,  has  disappeared  for  ever.  When  we  look  upon 
Russia  to-day  and  then  think  of  the  terror  which  she  inspired  in  the 
hearts  of  British  statesmen  forty  and  sixty-two  years  ago  the  contrast 
is  almost  pitiful  and  grotesque.  The  nation  that  succeeded  Russia 
as  an  ambitious  heir  to  the  Sultan's  dominions,  Germany,  is  now  almost 
as  powerless. 

Moreover,  the  British  conscience  has  changed  since  the  days  of  the 
Crimean  and  Russo-Turkish  wars.  The  old-time  attitude,  which 
insisted  on  regarding  these  problems  from  the  standpoint  of  fancied 
national  interest,  is  every  day  giving  place  to  a  more  humanitarian 
policy.  Gladstone's  idea  of  "public  right  as  the  governing  idea  of 
European  politics"  is  more  and  more  gaining  the  upper  hand.  The 
ideals  in  foreign  policy  represented  by  Cobden  and  Bright  are  the 
ideals  that  now  control  British  public  opinion.  There  are  still 
plenty  of  reactionaries  in  England  and  Europe  that  might  like  to 
settle  the  Ottoman  problem  in  the  old  discredited  way,  but  they  do 
not  govern  British  public  life  at  the  present  crisis.  The  England  that 
will  deal  with  the  Ottoman  Empire  in  1919  is  the  England  of  Lloyd 
George,  not  the  England  of  Palmerston  and  Disraeli. 

For  the  first  time,  therefore,  the  world  approaches  the  problem  of 
the  Ottoman  Empire,  the  greatest  blight  in  modern  civilization,  with 
an  absolutely  free  hand.  The  decision  will  inform  us,  more  eloquently 
than  any  other  detail  in  the  settlement,  precisely  what  forces  have 
won  in  this  war.  We  shall  learn  from  it  whether  we  have  really 
entered  upon  a  new  epoch ;  whether,  as  we  hope,  mediaeval  history  has 
ended  and  modern  history  has  begun. 


APPENDIX  433 

If  Constantinople  is  left  to  the  Turk;  if  the  Greeks,  the  Syrians, 
the  Armenians,  the  Arabs  and  the  Jews  are  not  freed  from  the  most 
revolting  tyranny  that  history  has  ever  known,  we  shall  understand 
that  the  sacrifices  of  the  last  four  years  have  been  in  vain,  and  that 
the  much-discussed  new  ideals  in  the  government  of  the  world  are  the 
merest  cant.  Thus  the  United  States  has  an  immediate  interest  in 
the  solution  of  this  problem.  The  hints  reaching  this  country  that 
another  effort  may  be  made  to  prop  up  the  Turk  are  not  pleasing  to 
us.  We  did  not  enter  this  war  to  set  up  new  balances  of  power,  to 
promote  the  interests  of  concessionaries,  to  make  new  partitions  of 
territory,  to  satisfy  the  imperialistic  ambitions  of  contending  Euro 
pean  powers,  but  to  lend  our  support  to  that  new  international 
conscience  that  seeks  to  reorganize  the  world  on  the  basis  of  justice 
and  popular  rights.  The  settlement  of  the  Eastern  question  will 
teach  us  to  what  extent  our  efforts  have  succeeded. 

If  this  mistake  of  propping  up  the  Sultan's  empire  is  not  to  be  made 
again,  either  that  empire  must  be  divided  among  the  great  powers — a 
solution  which  is  not  to  be  considered  for  reasons  which  it  is  hardly 
necessary  to  explain — or  one  of  these  great  powers  must  undertake 
its  administration  as  a  mandatory.  The  great  powers  in  question  are 
the  United  States,  Great  Britain,  France,  Italy,  and  Japan.  Of 
these  only  the  first  two  are  capable  of  assuming  this  duty.  Lord 
Curzon  has  told  me  personally  that  for  political  and  economic  reasons 
Great  Britain  cannot  assume  the  Ottoman  mandate.  Lloyd  George 
has  said  essentially  the  same  thing.  And  Stephane  Lauzanne,  who 
speaks  in  a  semi-official  capacity  for  France,  said,  in  an  interview, 
Nov.  1,  with  a  correspondent  of  the  Times: 

"In  the  offer  of  a  mandate  to  her,  America  should  see  more  than 
the  selfish  desire  of  Europe  to  involve  her  in  European  affairs.  It  is 
true  she  fears  to  be  the  centre  of  intrigues  and  difficulties.  She  fears 
distant  complications.  However,  the  question  is  nobler  and  higher 
than  that.  America  is  an  admirable  reservoir  of  energy.  She  holds 
the  secret  of  that  which  is  best  in  our  modern  life — to  build  largely 
and  to  build  quickly.  She  has  youth ;  she  has  power ;  she  has  wealth ; 
she  has  that  which  she  calls  efficiency.  We  in  Europe  are  old,  poor, 
enfeebled,  divided.  It  would  be  prodigiously  interesting  if  America, 
after  she  has  given  us  of  her  power,  of  her  money  and  her  material, 
should  give  us  also  an  example. 

"And  what  an  example  it  would  be  if  America  were  to  accept  the 
mandate  for  Constantinople!  Here  is  a  city  which  is  one  of  the 
marvels  of  Europe  and  of  the  world,  which  is  the  jewel  of  the  Orient, 


434  APPENDIX 

and  which  after  twenty  centuries  of  European  civilization  remains 
the  home  of  wickedness  and  corruption.  Every  one  disputes  posses 
sion  of  its  hills  and  harbours,  and  no  one  tries  to  make  of  it  a  great 
modern  city  which,  rid  of  international  intrigues  and  rid  of  politics, 
would  be  the  shining  pole  of  Europe.  Only  America  can  transform 
Constantinople;  only  America  can  establish  herself  there  without 
suspicion  of  bad  faith  and  without  jealousy;  only  America  can  civilize 
the  capital  of  Islam. 

"To  do  that  America  has  no  need  of  regiments  of  soldiers  or  of 
cannon.  She  has  need  only  of  her  workers  and  her  constructors.  A 
Hoover  or  a  Davison  would  be  enough.  And  America  is  full  of 
Hoovers  and  Davisons." 

I  recognize  the  tremendous  problems  which  confront  us  in  our  own 
country.  Those  problems  must  and  will  be  solved.  But  the  day  is 
past  when  the  individual  citizen  can  permit  absorption  in  his  personal 
affairs  to  exclude  the  consideration  of  the  community's  or  the  nation's 
well-being.  A  new  social  conscience  has  manifested  itself.  And  it 
is  equally  true  that  the  United  States,  as  a  member  of  the  League  of 
Nations,  must  take  an  active  and  altruistic  interest  in  world  affairs, 
however  pressing  our  own  problems  may  seem.  The  European  situa 
tion,  indeed,  is  really  a  part  of  them.  Our  associates  in  the  war 
cannot  drift  into  bankruptcy  and  despair  without  involving  the  United 
States  in  the  disaster.  The  losses  we  would  suffer  in  money  would 
be  the  least  distressing,  should  the  world  fall  into  the  chaos  which  is 
threatening.  If  we  cannot  solve  our  own  problems  and  at  the  same 
time  help  Europe  solve  hers  we  must  be  impotent  indeed. 

So  much,  then,  for  the  general  principles  involved;  what  are  the 
practical  details  of  such  a  mandate?  Last  May,  William  Buckler, 
Professor  Philip  M.  Brown,  and  myself  joined  in  a  memorandum  to 
President  Wilson  outlining  briefly  a  proposed  system  of  government 
for  the  Ottoman  dominions.  This  so  completely  embodies  my  ideas 
that  I  reprint  it  here,  with  two  slight  omissions: 

"The  government  of  Asia  Minor  should  be  dealt  with  under  three 
different  mandates,  (1)  for  Constantinople  and  its  zone,  (2)  for 
Turkish  Anatolia,  (3)  for  Armenia.  The  reason  for  not  uniting  these 
three  areas  under  a  single  mandate  is  that  the  methods  of  government 
required  in  each  area  are  different.  In  order,  however,  to  facilitate 
the  political  and  economic  development  of  the  whole  country,  these 
three  areas  should  be  placed  under  one  and  the  same  mandatory 


APPENDIX  435 

power,  with  a  single  governor  in  charge  of  the  whole,  to  unify  the 
separate  administrations  of  the  three  states. 

"Honest  and  efficient  government  in  the  Constantinople  zone  and 
in  Armenia  will  not  solve  the  problems  of  Asia  Minor  unless  the  same 
kind  of  government  is  also  provided  for  the  much  larger  area  lying 
between  Constantinople  and  Armenia,  i.  e.,  Turkish  Anatolia.  Con 
stantinople  and  Armenia  are  mere  fringes;  the  heart  of  the  problem 
lies  in  Anatolia,  of  which  the  population  is  75  per  cent.  Moslem. 

"The  main  rules  to  be  followed  in  dealing  with  this  central  district 
are: 


"1.  That  it  should  not  be  divided  up  among  Greeks,  French,  Italians,  &c. 

"2.  That  the  Sultan  should,  under  proper  mandatory  control,  retain 
religious  and  political  sovereignty  over  the  Turkish  people  in  Anatolia,  hav 
ing  his  residence  at  Brusa  or  Konia,  both  of  which  are  ancient  historic  seats 
of  the  Sultanate. 

"3.  That  no  part  of  Anatolia  should  be  placed  under  Greeks,  even  in  the 
form  of  a  mandate.  The  Greeks  are  entitled  by  their  numbers  to  a  small 
area  surrounding  Smyrna.  Under  no  circumstances  should  Greece  have  a 
mandate  over  territory  mainly  inhabited  by  Turks. 


"The  above  solution  of  the  problem  of  Asia  Minor  means  refusal  to 
recognize  secret  deals  such  as  the  Pact  of  London  and  the  Sykes-Picot 
Agreement  and  especially  the  Italian  claims  to  a  large  territory  near 
Adalia.  If  Greeks  and  Italians,  with  their  standing  antagonism,  are 
introduced  into  Asia  Minor,  the  peace  will  constantly  be  disturbed 
by  their  rivalry  and  intrigues.  Italy  has  no  claim  to  any  part  of 
Anatolia,  whether  on  the  basis  of  population,  of  commercial  interests, 
or  of  historic  tradition. 

"No  solution  of  the  Asia  Minor  problem  which  ignores  the  fact  that 
its  population  is  75  per  cent.  Turkish  can  be  considered  satisfactory  or 
durable.  The  only  two  countries  having  any  prospect  of  successfully 
holding  a  mandate  over  Anatolia  are  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States. 

"The  large  missionary  and  educational  interests  of  the  United  States 
in  Anatolia  must  be  adequately  protected,  and  it  is  illusory  to  imagine 
that  this  can  be  done  if  Anatolia  is  subjected  to  Greek,  French,  or 
Italian  sovereignty. 

"Only  a  comprehensive,  self-contained  scheme  such  as  that  above 
outlined  can  overcome  the  strong  prejudices  of  the  American  people 
against  accepting  any  mandate.  To  cure  the  ills  of  Turkey  and  to 
deliver  her  peasantry  from  their  present  ignorance  and  impoverish- 


436  APPENDIX 

merit    requires    a    thorough    reconstruction    of    Turkish    institutions, 
judicial,  educational,  economic,  financial,  and  military. 

"This  may  appeal  to  the  United  States  as  an  opportunity  to  set  a 
high  standard,  by  showing  that  it  is  the  duty  of  a  great  power,  in 
ruling  such  oppressed  peoples,  to  lead  them  toward  self-respecting 
independence  as  their  ultimate  goal." 

The  Armenians  are  wholly  unprepared  to  govern  themselves  or  to 
protect  themselves  against  their  neighbours.  Mere  supervision  will  not 
be  adequate.  What  the  Armenian  State  requires  is  a  kind  of  receiver 
ship,  and  we  should  take  it  over  in  trust,  to  manage  it  until  it  is  time 
to  turn  it  over  when  it  is  governmentally  solvent  and  on  a  going  basis. 
Anatolia  should  be  under  a  separate  management  and  have  its  own 
parliament;  its  executive  should  be  a  deputy  governor  under  a 
governor  general  at  Constantinople.  The  three  governments  should 
have  a  common  coinage,  similar  tariff  requirements,  and  unified  rail 
road  systems;  and  in  other  respects  should  be  federated  somewhat  as 
states  in  this  country  are. 

The  commercial  importance  of  such  an  arrangement  is  enormous, 
for  Constantinople  must  continue  as  Russia's  chief  outlet  to  the 
world,  and  it  is  the  gateway  to  the  East.  The  commercial  policy 
would,  of  course,  be  an  open-door  policy.  All  nations  would  have 
equality  of  opportunity  in  trade  and  would  be  free  in  regard  to 
colonization.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  commercial  situation  is  of 
little  importance  to  us.  Prior  to  the  war  our  foreign  trade  amounted 
to  only  about  6  per  cent,  of  our  total  trade;  and  although  it  increased 
during  the  war  to  about  1 1  per  cent.,  it  is  likely  to  recede  soon  to  the 
neighbourhood  of  8  per  cent.  It  will  consist  largely  of  raw  materials, 
such  as  wheat,  cotton,  copper,  and  coal,  which  other  nations  must  get 
from  us,  whether  or  no.  Foreign  trade  is  a  mere  incident;  our 
prosperity  is  not  what  we  are  fighting  for. 

It  need  not  require  the  extension  of  large  credits  from  us  to  put 
these  nations  on  a  sound  footing.  They  could  be  financed  by  bond 
issues  issued  in  each  case  against  the  resources  of  the  territories 
involved.  If  the  United  States  held  the  mandates,  there  would  be 
no  difficulty,  I  apprehend,  in  floating  such  issues.  And  as  for  the 
policing  necessary,  that  need  be  very  small,  provided  a  man  of  strong 
will  and  quick  decision,  fertile  in  resources  and  of  unshakable  deter 
mination,  were  assigned  to  the  Governorship  General  at  Constanti 
nople.  The  opportunity  would  be  a  great  one  for  an  American 
completely  imbued  with  our  institutions.  The  succession  of  able 


APPENDIX  437 

pro-consuls  whom  we  have  sent  to  the  Philippines  shows  that  we  shall 
not  lack  such  men. 

We  shall  surrender  our  mandates  over  these  three  territories  when 
we  have  finished  our  work.  We  shall  not  necessarily  leave  them  all 
at  the  same  time;  we  shall  turn  each  one  over  to  its  people  when  the 
public  opinion  of  the  world,  expressed  in  the  League  of  Nations,  has 
decided  that  it  is  capable  of  directing  its  own  affairs.  It  might  be 
necessary  for  us  to  remain  in  Constantinople  longer  than  elsewhere, 
and  there  is  reason  to  suppose  that  Constantinople  will  become  the 
Washington  of  the  Balkans  and  perhaps  of  Asia  Minor,  the  central 
governing  power  of  the  Balkan  confederation.  But  if  left  without 
the  guidance  and  help  of  outside  intelligence  and  capital,  those  peo 
ples  will  necessarily  continue  to  retrograde.  They  must  have  security 
of  property  if  they  are  to  have  on  incentive  to  labour.  Unless  they 
have  that,  the  blight  of  southeastern  Europe  will  remain,  and  the 
Turks,  originally  a  marauding  band  of  conquerors,  who  have  held  a 
precarious  and  undeserved  footing  for  more  than  five  hundred  years  on 
European  soil,  will  continue  to  menace  its  peace  and  safety.  If  ever 
there  was  a  chance  to  put  them  out,  we  have  that  chance  now.  The 
United  States  is  the  only  government  which  can  undertake  the 
purification  of  the  Balkans  without  incurring  ill-will  and  jealousy. 
We  need  not  indulge  in  overpolite  phrases.  This  is  the  only  nation 
which  can  accept  these  mandates  and  maintain  international  good 
feeling.  It  is  absolutely  our  fault  if  the  Turk  remains  in  Europe. 

The  difficulties  inherent  in  this  situation  can  be  cured  only  at  the 
source.  The  League  of  Nations,  when  it  comes  into  being,  must  not 
operate  exclusively  through  a  central  agency  at  Geneva,  because  it 
cannot  learn  in  that  way  the  real  difficulties  and  the  wants  of 
dependent  peoples.  That  can  be  done  only  in  the  most  direct  way, 
through  representatives  on  the  spot.  The  people,  moreover,  want  to 
be  heard.  They  are  wonderfully  relieved  after  they  have  had  their 
say.  That  fact  has  its  touch  of  pathos,  perhaps  to  some  a  touch  of  the 
ridiculous;  but  it  is  a  factor  of  the  human  equation  which  we  cannot 
afford  to  ignore.  And  if  we  supply  American  tribunals,  disinterested 
and  just,  before  which  these  peoples  can  state  their  grievances  and 
their  aspirations,  we  will  have  taken  a  long  step  toward  their  pacifica 
tion  and  stabilization. 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Abdul  Hamid,  kept  prisoner,  184 

Abraham  &  Straus,  incident  of  for 
mation  of  firm,  34 

Adler,  Dr.  Cyrus,  objects  to  Jew 
serving  on  commission  to  investi 
gate  Polish  pogroms,  353 

Adler,  Dr.  Felix,  leader  of  a  new 
movement,  95,  129 

Admission  to  the  Bar,  29 

Adrianople,  Governor  of,  hospitable 
reception  given  by,  192 

Agincourt,  visit  to  ancient  battle 
ground,  266 

Albright,  Charles  P.,  26 

Alexander,  Andrew,  building  erected 
for,  55 

Alexander,  James  W.,  fights  to  retain 
control  of  Equitable  Insurance  Co., 
80 

Alexandria,  visit  to,  219 

Algef,  Dr.,  15 

Ali  Kuli  Khan,  at  Peace  Conference, 
326 

Ali  Mehemmid,  visit  to,  223 

Allen,  Edward  W.,  at  Roosevelt's 
fusion  meeting,  280 

Alter,  Rabbi,  visit  to,  near  Warsaw, 
374 

America's  true  mission  in  Turkey, 
203 

American  Chamber  of  Commerce  for 
the  Levant,  speech  at,  198 

American  troops,  arrival  in  France, 
restores  flagging  energy  of  the 
people,  256;  visit  to,  on  British 
front,  266;  Sir  Douglas  Haig's  im 
pressions  of,  273 

Anderson,  Charles  P.,  sails  for  In 
ternational  Red  Cross  Conference, 
310;  in  conference  with  Henry  P. 
Davison,  313 

Anderson,  U.  S.  District  Attorney, 
sends  deputies  to  New  Hampshire 
to  enforce  election  laws,  246 

Arabian  night,  arranged  by  Governor 
of  Nabulus,  231 

Arif  Pasha,  224 

Armenia,  report  on,  337 


Armistice,  earlier  than  expected,  299 

Armstrong  Committee,  the  Insurance 
investigation,  64,  66,  71 

Arnold,  Olney,  Consular  Agent  at 
Cairo,  219,  220 

Aronstam,  Charles  S.  account  of 
Roosevelt's  forming  fusion  ticket 
for  New  York  municipal  election, 
280;  tenders  nomination  for  Presi 
dent  of  Board  of  Aldermen,  281; 
declined,  282 

Arthur  of  Connaught,  Prince,  met 
on  British  front,  269 

Atterbury,  Gen.  W.  W.,  asked  to  ac 
cept  Director-Generalship  of  As 
sociated  National  Red  Cross,  318 

Askenazy,  pronounced  Assimilator, 
366 

Astor,  John  Jacob,  dealings  with,  46 

Astor,  William  Waldorf,  46;  real 
estate  transactions  with,  54,  55 

Aupin,  Count,  meeting  with,  330 

Baker,  Elbert  H.,  prophesies  Wilson 
would  carry  Ohio  by  large  major 
ity,  245 

Baker,  J.  E.,  takes  party  of  labour 
leaders  to  British  front,  267 

Baker,  Newton  D.,  assures  committee 
of  high  Democratic  majority  in 
Ohio,  245;  letter  declining  to  speak 
for  League  to  Enforce  Peace,  300 

Baker,  Ray  Stannard,  at  Peace  Con 
ference,  324 

Baldwin,  Edward  R.,  sails  for  Inter 
national  Red  Cross  Conference,  310 

Balfour,  Arthur  J.,  New  York  City's 
reception  to,  253;  at  luncheon 
given  by,  in  Paris,  341 

Balfour  Declaration,  misunderstood 
by  Zionists,  389 

Ball,  Alwyn,  Jr.,  realty  dealings 
through,  55;  aids  in  forming  real 
estate  trust  company,  57 

Baltimore  Convention,  Wilson's  nom 
ination  at,  146 

Baltimore  Sun,  favours  Wilson  at 
Baltimore  Convention,  146 


441 


442 


INDEX 


Bamberger-Delaware  Gold  Mine,  in 
vestment  in,  51 

Bannard,  Otto,  defeated  by  Judge 
Gaynor,  279 

Bar,   admission   to  the,  29 

Baring  Brothers,  influence  of  their 
failure  on  real  estate  transactions, 
48 

Barth,  Herr,  remark  that  Roosevelt 
could  never  remain  out  of  politics, 
281 

Barton,  Dr.  James  L.,  175 

Baruch,  Bernard  M.,  valuable  aid  in 
securing  campaign  contributions, 
242 

Bauman,  Mr.,  51 

Beattie,  C.  J.,  met  on  British  front,  267 

Beecher,  Henry  Ward,  15 

Behning,  Henry,  law  case  of,  31 

Bell,  George  W.,  with  Mitchel  on 
campaign,  285 

Bellows,  Henry  W.,  15 

Bennett,  James  Gordon,  aids  in  sale 
of  lots,  48;  encounter  with  pugilist 
indirect  cause  of  siding  against 
Tammany,  113 

Berkowitz,  Dr.  Henry,  not  in  favour 
of  Zionist  plans,  349 

Biddle,  General,  commanding  Ameri 
can  troops  on  British  front,  266 

Qig  Business,  era  of,  133 

Biggs,  Dr.  Hermann  M.,  sails  for 
International  Red  Cross  Confer 
ence,  310 

Billinski,  M.,  talks  on  Jewish  ques 
tion,  374,  376 

Black,  Mr.,  72 

Blass,  Robert,  sings  at  Conried's 
funeral,  104 

Bliss,  Cornelius  N.,  Jr.,  on  committee 
for  financing  the  Red  Cross,  249 

Bliss,  Dr.  Howard,  invited  on  Pales 
tine  trip,  214;  at  Samaritan  cere 
monies,  229;  at  Arabian  night,  231, 
232 

Bliss,  General,  on  possibilities  of  an 
other  war,  335 

Bliss,  George,  real  estate  transactions 
with,  48,  49 

Bloomingdale  &  Co.,  position  with,  18 

Blumstein,  Louis  M.,  real  estate  sold 
to,  42 

B'nai  Brith  Lodge,  at  Constantinople, 
205 

Bompard,  M.,  French  Ambassador  at 
Constantinople,  183 

Bonne,  Mrs.  Josephine,  99 

Borah,  antagonistic  to  Wilson,  130 

Brackett,  Edgar  T.,  presents  argu 
ment  for  impeachment  at  Sulzer 
trial,  172 


Brady,  Anthony  N.,  interested  in 
formation  of  real  estate  trust  com 
pany,  59 

Brady,  Peter,  member  "Committee  of 
Safety,"  107 

Bratianu,  Roumanian  premier,  at 
Peace  Conference,  326,  327  ^ 

Briand,  Aristide,  meeting  with,  330; 
proposes  to  pay  war  debt  by  sale 
of  lottery  tickets  in  America,  331 

Bridgeport,  Alabama,  unfortunate 
investments  at,  50 

British  front,  trip  to,  266 

Broad  Exchange  Bldg.,  purchase  of 
plots  for  site,  87 

Bronx  House,  Settlement  work  at, 
105,  106 

Brooklyn,  emigration  to,  5,  7 

Brown,  Dr.  Arthur  Judspn,  175 

Brown,  Dr.  Charles  R.,  in  campaign 
of  League  to  Enforce  Peace,  301 

Brown,  Prof.  Philip  M.,  in  study  of 
Armenian  question,  337 

Bryan,  William  Jennings,  candidacy 
against  Wilson,  138;  the  "cocked- 
hat"  letter,  140;  at  Jackson  Day 
Dinner,  142;  hazy  ideas  of  diplom 
acy,  174 

Bryant,  Lieut.-Col.  M.  C.,  executive 
secretary  Mission  to  Poland,  335; 
acts  as  secretary,  381 

Bryant,  William  Cullen,   15 

Bryce,  Viscount,  invited  on  Palestine 
trip,  216;  his  thirst  for  facts,  227; 
at  the  Samaritan  ceremonies,  230; 
at  Arabian  night,  231 

Buchman,  Albert,  architect,  51 

Buckler,  William  H.,  study  of  Turk 
ish  problem  with,  at  Peace  Con 
ference,  323;  in  study  of  the  Turk 
ish  question,  336,  337 

Bureau  of  Public  Information,  be 
ginnings  of,  252 

Burleson,  Albert  S.,  assistance  dur 
ing  campaign,  154;  appointed 
Postmaster-General,  159;  in  dif 
ficulties  over  New  York  Post- 
mastership,  237,  239 

Butler,  Benjamin  F.,  26 

Butler,  Prescott  Hall,  Boreel  Bldg. 
purchased  through,  87 

Butzel,  Mr.,  acquaintance  with,  25 

Cairo,  arrival  at,  220 

Campaign  of  1916,  financing,  236,  241 

Cannes,     International     Red     Cross 

Conference  at,  313 
Carpenter,  Prof.  William  H.,  speaks 

at  Conried's  funeral,  105 
Carroll,  John  F.,  9 


INDEX 


443 


Caruso,  Enrico,  engaged  by  Conried 
from  phonograph  records,  101 

Celluloid  Piano  Key  Co.,  connection 
with,  32;  investments  in,  41 

Central  Realty  Bond  &  Trust  Com 
pany,  organization,  57  et  seq.; 
transactions  of,  86;  merged  into 
Lawyers'  Title  Insurance  Com 
pany,  89 

Chadbourne,  Thomas  L.,  Jr.,  valuable 
aid  in  securing  campaign  contribu 
tions,  242;  at  War  Publicity  meet 
ing,  252 

Channing,  Dr.,  extract  from  "Self- 
Denial"  sermon,  16 

Charters,  General,  on  British  front, 
268 

Childs,  William  Hamlin,  at  War  Pub 
licity  meeting,  253 

Chinese  delegation  to  Peace  Confer 
ence,  dinner  given  by,  324;  their 
hopeless  position,  325 

Choate,  Joseph  H.,  attorney  for  the 
Astors,  45;  presiding  at  New  York 
City's  welcome  to  Joffre,  Viviani, 
and  Balfour,  254 

City  College,  preparation  for,  9;  en 
trance,  11;  withdrawal  from,  13 

Clark,  Champ,  candidacy  against 
Wilson,  138;  at  Jackson  Day  Din 
ner,  142;  at  Baltimore  Convention, 
146;  over-confidence  costs  nomina 
tion,  147;  at  the  Sea  Girt  notifica 
tion,  148 

Clemenceau,  at  signing  of  Peace 
Treaty,  336 

Cobb,  Frank  I.,  aids  Wilson  cause  at 
Baltimore  by  New  York  World 
editorial,  146;  at  the  Sulzer  dinner, 
168;  collaboration  with  on  article 
showing  Germany  planned  the  war, 
296 

Coblenz,  speech  at,  on  the  next  war, 
332,  335;  state  of  mind  of  the  resi 
dents,  333 

Cockran,  Bourke,  acquaintance  with, 
25 

Coggeshall,  Edwin  W.,  entertains 
proposition  for  increasing  capital 
of  Lawyers'  Title  Company,  67,  69 

Colby,  Bainb  ridge,  retained  by  Alex 
ander  in  Equitable  contest,  80,  81; 
on  Board  of  Directors,  Metropoli 
tan  Opera  Company,  101 ;  campaign 
for  Wilson,  245 

College  for  Girls,  Constantinople,  204, 
207 

Columbia  Law  School,  attendance  at, 
27 

"Committee  of  Safety,"  creation  of, 
107 


Conkling,  Roscoe,  113 

Conried,  Heinrich,  backing  secured 
for  Metropolitan  Opera  venture, 
99;  engages  Caruso  from  phono 
graph  records,  101 ;  death,  and  im 
pressive  funeral,  104 

Constantinople  arrival  at,  177;  tactics 
toward  the  "diplomatic  set,"  179; 
first  impressions  of,  186 

Cooke,  Jay,  in  Panic  of  1873,  20 

Cooper  Union,  address  at,  showing 
necessity  of  complete  defeat  of 
Germany,  298 

Cox,  Governor,  nominated  for  Presi 
dency  by  state  "bosses,"  121 

Crane,  Charles  R.,  helps  finance  Wil 
son  campaign,  145;  approves  selec 
tion  of  headquarters  for  1916  cam 
paign,  236;  at  dinner  given  by 
Chinese  delegation  to  Peace  Con 
ference,  324 

Crawford,  L.  Cope,  met  on  British 
front,  267 

Crimmins,  John  D.,  22;  real  estate 
ventures  of,  41,  42;  interested  in 
formation  of  real  estate  trust  com 
pany,  58;  at  the  Sulzer  dinner,  168 

Croker,  Richard,  acquaintance  with, 
113 

Crowell,  Ass't  Sec'y  of  War,  at  din 
ner  to,  in  Paris,  337 

Cullen,  Judge  Edgar  M.,  presiding 
at  Sulzer  impeachment,  172 

Cummings,  Homer  S.,  friendship 
with,  154;  as  the  Demosthenes  of 
the  Democratic  Party,  306 

Currie,  Sir  Arthur,  lunch  with  on 
British  front,  268;  description  of 
battle  of  Lens,  269 

Curtis,  Dr.   Holbrook,  103 

Curtis,  Miss,  met  at  Cannes,  327 

D'Abernon,  Lord,  at  Balfour  lunch 
eon  in  Paris,  341 

D'Ankerswaerd,    188 

Dana,  Charles  A.,  15 

Daniels,  Josephus,  friendship  with, 
154;  appointed  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  159;  hopeless  of  success  of 
1916  campaign,  235;  at  McCormick 
luncheon,  242;  sails  on  the  Levi 
athan,  310 

Dardanelles,  Major  Tibbetts  tells  ex 
periences,  268 

Davies,  J.  Clarence,  in  the  "Subway 
Boom,"  87 

Davies,  Joseph  E.,  friendship  with, 
154 

Davison,  Henry  P.,  selected  as  Chair 
man  of  Committee  for  financing  the 
Red  Cross,  250;  dinner  given  Red 


444 


INDEX 


Cross  delegates  in  Paris,  312;  cable 
from,  requesting  attendance  at  In 
ternational  Red  Cross  Conference, 
308;  organizing  and  directing  spirit 
of  International  Red  Cross  Con 
ference,  316;  entreated  to  make 
Red  Cross  his  life  work,  316;  mis 
take  of  permitting  other  than 
American  as  Director-General,  319; 
proposes  dinner  to  Governors  of 
the  League  of  Red  Cross  Societies, 
320;  speaks  at  the  dinner,  321 

Democracy — a  master-passion,  351 

Deutsch,    Bernard,    106 

Djemal,  Colonel,  187 

Dmowski,  Roman,  at  Paderewski 
dinner,  356;  explains  his  Anti- 
Semitism,  357 

Dodge,  Bayard,  on  Palestine  trip, 
214 

Dodge,  Cleveland  H.,  helps  finance 
Wilson  campaign,  145;  aid  to 
Robert  College,  208;  invited  on 
Palestine  trip,  214;  on  committee 
for  financing  the  Red  Cross,  249 

Doheny,  Edward  L.,  contributes  large 
sum  to  campaign  fund,  and  gets 
it  back  by  election  bets,  242 

Domremy,  visit  to,  260 

Dora,  trip  to  Hamburg  on,  22 

Doremus,  Professor,   12 

Draper,  Mrs.  William  K.,  speech  at 
dinner  to  Governors  of  the  League 
of  the  Red  Cross  Societies,  321 

Dreier,  Miss  Mary,  member  "Com 
mittee  of  Safety,"  107 

Drummond,  Sir  Eric,  speech  at  din 
ner  to  Governors  of  the  League  of 
the  Red  Cross  Societies,  321 

Duel,  Dr.  Arthur  B.,  with  Mitchel  on 
campaign,  285 

Dwight,  Prof.  Theodore  W.,  29 

Easter  sacrifice  of  the  Samaritans  on 

Mount  Gerizim,  228 
Eclectic  Life  Insurance  Co.,  failure 

in  Panic  of  1873,  21 
Edison,    Thomas    A.,    at   McCormick 

luncheon,  242 
Educational    Alliance,    Director    of, 

105 

Egan,  Dr.  Maurice  Francis,  at  Copen 
hagen  Legation,  19 
Egypt,    Kitchener's    explanation     of 

Great  Britain's  policy  in,  226 
Ehrich,  William  J.,   association  with 

in  realty  ventures,  42 
Einhorn,  Rabbi,  15,  128 
Elizabeth,  Princess,  at  dinner  with, 

326 


Elkus,  Abram  I.,  work  with  factory 
investigation  committee,  108;  helps 
finance  Wilson  campaign,  145 

Emerson,  Ralph  Waldo,  15 

Emerson  Society,  organized,  98 

Enver  Pasha,  Turkish  Minister  of 
War,  185;  direct  dealings  with,  197; 
asks  advice,  202;  of  much  interest 
to  Kitchener,  225 

Equitable  Insurance  Co.,  the  investi 
gation,  79  et  seq. 

Esher,  Lord,  arranges  trip  to  British 
front,  266 

Evarts,  William  M.,  attorney  for  the 
Astors,  45 

Farley,  Terrence,  41 

Federal  Reserve  Act,  prevents  con 
centration  and  control  of  capital, 
83 

Filene,  Edward  A.,  in  campaign  of 
League  to  Enforce  Peace,  301;  at 
dinner  given  by  Chinese  delegation 
to  Peace  Conference,  324 

Finley,  Dr.  John  H.,  11 

Fisk  and  Hatch,  in  Panic  of  1873,  20 

Flower,  Roswell  P.,  118 

Ford,  Henry,  drives  a  hard  bargain, 
242 

Fosdick,  Raymond  B.,  aids  in  pre 
paring  National  Committee  budget, 
153 

Foss,  Mr.,  at  Jackson  Day  Dinner, 
142 

Fox,  Mortimer  J.,  on  trip  to  Constan 
tinople,  177 

Franco-Prussian  War,  influences  sen 
timent  in  favour  of  Germans  in 
New  York,  8 

Frascara,  Count,  speech  at  dinner  to 
Governors  of  the  League  of  the 
Red  Cross  Societies,  321 

Fraser,  Lovat,  met  on  British  front, 
267 

Free  Synagogue,  resignation  from, 
293 

Freedman,  Andrew,  connection  with 
Richard  Croker,  115 

French  front,  visit  to,  259 

Fuller  Construction  Co.,  financing  of, 
71 

Garfield,  President,  influence  of  as 
sassination  on  real  estate  market, 

Garrels,  Consul,  219 

Gates,  Dr.,  president  of  Robert  Col 
lege,  204,  208 

Gawa,  Prof.  Arata  Nina,  speech  at 
dinner  to  Governors  of  the  League 
of  the  Red  Cross  Societies,  321 


INDEX 


445 


Gaynor,  William  J.,  an  opponent,  34 

George,  Lloyd,  seeks  Wilson's  favour 
through  Admiral  Grayson,  331 ;  at 
signing  of  Peace  Treaty,  336 

Germans,  early  prejudice  against,  in 
New  York,  8 

Germany:  entering  on  career  of  Im 
perialism,  23 

Gibson,  Hugh,  asked  to  report  on 
Poland's  treatment  of  Jews,  352; 
at  Paderewski  dinner,  356 

Giers,  Michel  de,  Russian  Ambassa 
dor  at  Constantinople,  183 

Gildersleeve,  Henry  A.,  acquaintance 
with,  25 

Glass,  Franklin  P.,  at  conference  over 
Wilson's  "cocked-hat"  letter,  140 

Glass,  Senator  Carter,  reason  for  his 
appointment  as  secretary  of  Demo 
cratic  National  Committee,  244 

Godkin,  Lawrence,  15 

Goelet,  Robert,  on  Board  of  Direc 
tors  of  Metropolitan  Opera  Com 
pany,  100 

Gold  mine,  investment  in,  51 

Goldsmith,  Abraham,  partnership 
with,  33,  42 

Goodhart,  Capt.  Arthur  L.,  Counsel 
with  Mission  to  Poland,  355;  at 
reception  in  Warsaw,  365 

Gould,  George  J.,  on  Board  of  Direc 
tors  Metropolitan  Opera  Company, 
100 

Gouraud,  General,  Pershing  renews 
acquaintance  of,  at  Verdnn,  266 

Grabski,  conference  with,  on  condi 
tions  in  Poland,  358 

Grand  Central  Station,  construction 
of,  8 

Grasty,  Charles  H.,  aids  Wilson  at 
Baltimore  Convention,  146 

Grayson,  Admiral,  telegram  to,  re 
garding  Wilson's  attitude  toward 
Lane  as  Director-General  of  Inter 
national  Red  Cross,  318;  dinner 
with  Lloyd  George,  332 

Greeley,  Horace,  15 

Green,  Andrew  H.,  appointed  Comp 
troller  of  City  of  New  York,  113 

Greene,  Colonel  Warwick,  declines 
membership  of  commission  to  in 
vestigate  treatment  of  Jews  in 
Poland,  352,  354 

Gregory,  Attorney  General,  sends 
deputies  to  New  Hampshire  to  en 
force  election  laws,  247 

Gregory,  Eliot,  on  Board  of  Directors 
Metropolitan  Opera  Company,  101 

Grew,  Joseph  C.,  cables  to  obtain 
American  opinion  of  Jew  serving 


on  commission  to  investigate  Polish 
pogroms,  353 

Groshents,  M.,  patriot  of  Thann,  261 

Grosscup,  Mr.,  139 

Grant,  Hugh  J.,  interested  in  forma 
tion  of  real  estate  trust  company, 
68;  aids  in  financing  of  Fuller 
Construction  Co.,  71;  advises  pur 
chase  of  Baieel  Bldg.,  86;  had  no 
fear  of  panic,  88;  interested  in 
Underwood  Typewriter  Company, 
91 

Guggenheim,  Daniel,  100 

Guggenheimer,  Randolph,  100 

Guizat,  Count  de  Witt,  entertained 
by,  on  trip  to  French  front,  262 

Gutherz,  Dr.,  3 

Haig,  Sir  Douglas,  arranges  meeting 
with  Sir  Arthur  Currie,  269;  why 
he  did  not  capture  Lens,  271; 
record  of  meeting  with,  271 

Hall,  A.  Oakey,  Mayor  of  New  York 
City  under  Tweed;  109 

Hall,  Dr.,  quotation  from,  16 

Hamburg,  trip  on  sailing  vessel  to,  22 

Hamlin,  Dr.,  work  at  Robert  College, 
208 

Hammerstein,  Oscar,  realty  dealings 
with,  43 

Hammill,  Dr.  Samuel  M.,  sails  for 
International  Red  Cross  Confer 
ence,  310 

Hankey,  Sir  Maurice,  at  Balfour 
luncheon  in  Paris,  341 

Hanna,  Mark,  in  control  of  Repub 
lican  Party,  122 

Harbord,  Major-General,  meeting 
with  in  France,  273;  induced  to  ac 
cept  Armenian  Mission,  337;  helps 
select  military  member  of  mission 
to  Poland,  354 

Harbord  Commission  to  Armenia, 
negotiations  for  appointment,  336, 
337,  338;  report  giving  reasons  for 
and  against  America  accepting 
Armenian  mandate,  343 

Harriman,  E.  H.,  financing  of  Union 
Pacific,  77;  attitude  toward  Equit 
able  controversy,  82 

Hartman,  Judge  Anthony,  39 

Hartman,  Miss  llosina,  studies  under. 
10 

Harvey,  Col.  George,  disagreement 
with  Wilson,  149 

Haskell,  Col.  William  N,  appointed 
to  head  resident  commission  to 
Armenia,  342 

Havemeyer,  Henry  O.,  realty  ven 
tures,  42;  interested  in  formation 
of  real  estate  trust  company,  58 


446 


INDEX 


Hays,  Will  H.,  success  as  Republican 
National  Chairman,  126 

Hearst,  William  Randolph,  at  Jack 
son  Day  Dinner,  142 

Heins,  Louis  F.,  116 

"Hell's  Kitchen,"  experiences  with 
tenants  in,  40 

Henderson,  General  David,  becomes 
Director-General  of  International 
Red  Cross,  320;  speech  at  dinner 
to  Governors  of  the  League  of  the 
Red  Cross  Societies,  321 

Henry  Street  Settlement,  105 

Herrick,  Myron  T.,  urges  acceptance 
of  Ambassadorship  to  Turkey,  161 

Hilton,  Frederick  M.,  transaction 
with,  86 

Hilton,  Hughes  &  Co.,  difficulties  of, 
36 

Hirsch,  Solomon,  162 

Hirsdansky,  Simon,  106 

Hoffman,  John  T.,  made  Governor  by 
Tweed,  109,  110 

Holley,  Abner  B.,  instructor  in 
mathematics,  10 

Hollis,  Senator,  at  dinner  given  by 
Chinese  delegation  to  Peace  Con 
ference,  324 

Holt,  Dr.  L.  Emmett,  sails  for  Inter 
national  Red  Cross  Conference,  310 

Holy  Land,  visit  to  the,  212 

Homer,  Mme.,  sings  at  Conried's 
funeral,  104 

Hoover,  Herbert,  meeting  with  in 
Paris,  312;  recommends  appoint 
ment  of  Harbord  Armenian  Mis 
sion,  338;  not  in  favour  of  America 
accepting  mandate  over  Armenia, 
340;  urges  Wilson  to  appoint 
commission  to  investigate  treat 
ment  of  Jews  in  Poland,  352;  State 
dinner  given  to,  by  Paderewski, 
377 

Hoskins,  Dr.  Franklin,  invited  on 
Palestine  trip,  214;  at  Caves  of 
Machpelah,  218;  profound  Biblical 
scholar,  227;  at  Samaritan  cere 
monies,  229;  at  Arabian  night,  231 

House,  Colonel,  Wilson's  confidence 
in,  154;  approves  selection  of  head 
quarters  for  1916  Campaign,  236; 
his  relationship  with  President 
Wilson,  239;  at  Peace  Conference, 
327;  at  signing  of  Peace  Treaty, 
336 

Houston,  Secretary,  applauds  cam 
paign  of  League  to  Enforce  Peace, 
300 

Hudspeth,  Judge,  121,  139 

Hughes,  Chas.  Evans,  conducts  insur 
ance  investigation,  79,  83;  at  War 


Publicity  meeting,  252;  urges 
Mitchel's  reelection  at  City  Hall 
Park  mass  meeting,  284;  signs  cable 
to  Wilson  appealing  for  help  for 
Armenia,  340;  speaks  at  Madison 
Square  Garden  meeting  of  protest 
against  treatment  of  Jews  in 
Poland,  352 

Hughes,  Congressman,  139 

Huntington,  Collis  P.,  real  estate 
dealings  with,  52 

Hyde,  Henry  B.,  organizes  Equitable 
Life  Insurance  Co.,  79 

Hyde,  James  Hazen,  head  of  Equit 
able  Life  Insurance  Co.,  66;  insur 
ance  irregularities,  78;  personal 
weakness,  79;  efforts  in  Paris  to 
assist  in  World  War,  and  work 
with  the  Red  Cross,  84 

Ibrahim  Bey,  189 
Ickelheimer,  Henry  R.,  100 
International  Red  Cross  Conference, 

310 
Izzett,  General,  187 

Jackson,  Charles  A.,  120 

Jackson  Day  Dinner,  of  1912,  Wil 
son's  success  at,  138 

Jacob-ben-Aaron,  High  Priest  of 
Samaritans,  228 

Jadwin,  General  Edgar,  on  commis 
sion  to  investigate  treatment  of 
Jews  in  Poland,  352;  selected  by 
Pershing,  354;  at  Paderewski  din 
ner  to  Hoover,  378 

Jarlsberg,  Count  Wedel,  speech  at 
dinner  to  Governors  of  the  League 
of  the  Red  Cross  Societies,  321 

Jarvie,  James  N.,  on  board  of  direc 
tors  of  real  estate  trust  company, 
61;  opponent  of  Havemeyer,  65,  69; 
interested  in  Underwood  Type 
writer  Co.,  91 

Jastrow,  Prof.  Morris,  not  in  favour 
of  Zionist  plans,  349 

Jaubert,  Captain,  in  charge  of  trip 
to  French  front,  259 

Jews,  influence  of,  discrimination 
against,  in  failure  of  Hilton, 
Hughes  &  Co.,  38;  send  commission 
to  Peace  Conference,  348;  oppor 
tunities  boundless  in  America,  399 

Jews,  atrocities  against,  in  Poland, 
351;  Hugh  Gibson  asked  to  report 
on,  352;  Wilson  appoints  commis 
sion  to  investigate,  352;  objections 
against  Jew  serving  on  commission, 
353 

Jewish  members  of  Polish  Parlia 
ment,  361 


INDEX 


447 


Jewish  question,  the,  article  in  New 
York  Times,  289 

Joffre,  Marshal,  New  York  City's 
reception  to,  253;  pleads  for  sight 
of  American  uniforms  in  Paris, 
256;  meeting  at  his  Paris  head 
quarters,  262 

Johnson,  Frederick,  116 

Johnson,  George  F.,  116 

Johnson,  Homer  H.,  at  dinner  given 
by,  in  Paris,  337 ;  on  commission  to 
investigate  treatment  of  Jews  in 
Poland,  352 

Johnson,  Joseph,  appointment  as 
Postmaster  prevented,  238 

Joline,  Adrian  H.,  "cocked-hat"  letter 
from  Wilson,  140 

Jones  Estate,  Joshua,  purchase  of 
lots  in,  47 

Jordan,  Thomas  N.,  68 

Judson,  Dr.  Henry  Pratt,  dinner  to, 
299 

Juilliard,  A.  D.,  on  board  of  direc 
tors  of  real  estate  trust  company, 
61,  66,  69 

Kahn,  Congressman  Julius,  on  com 
mittee  to  present  views  of  Ameri 
can  Jews  on  Zionism  to  Peace  Con 
ference,  350 

Kahn,  Otto  H.,  on  Board  of  Direc 
tors  Metropolitan  Opera  Company, 
100 

Kahri  Jeh  Janisi,  oldest  mosque  in 
Constantinople,  187 

Kelly,  John,  succeeds  Tweed  as  Tam 
many  leader,  112 

Kennedy,  John  S.,  aid  to  Robert 
College,  208 

Kenyon,  Cox  &  Co.,  hi  Panic  of  1873, 
20 

Kerenski,  at  Peace  Conference,  323 

KergoJay,  Count,  speech  at  dinner  to 
Governors  of  the  League  of  the 
Red  Cross  Societies,  320 

Khedive  of  Egypt,  provides  for  wel 
come  at  Alexandria,  219;  official 
call  on,  221;  as  a  modern  business 
man,  222 

Kiernan,  Lawrence  D.,  9 

Kilpatrick,  Frank,  realty  dealings 
with,  45 

Kilpatrick,  Walter,  realty  dealings 
with,  45 

Kingsbury,  John  A.,  member  "Com 
mittee  of  Safety,"  107 

Kitchener,  Lord,  meeting  with,  in 
Egypt,  210;  anomalous  position  in 
Egypt,  220;  meeting  with,  221; 
luncheon  with,  224 


Knickerbocker  Real  Estate  Co.,  deal 
ings  with,  42 

Knox  Bldg.,  purchase  of,  87 

Koenig,  Samuel  S.,  at  Sulzer  dinner, 
168 

Kuhn,  Loeb  &  Co.,  rise  in  banking 
circle,  77 

Kurzman,  Ferdinand,  in  law  office  of, 
12;  re<e'mployment  by,  18;  method 
of  dispossessing  undesirable  ten 
ant,  39 

Lachman,  Samson,  33;  realty  ven 
tures  with,  42;  elected  Judge  of 
Sixth  District  Court,  120 

Lachman,  Morgenthau  &  Goldsmith, 
formation  of  partnership,  34;  with 
drawal  from  the  firm,  56 

Lament,  Dan,  his  friendship  with 
Grover  Cleveland,  118 

Lament,  Thomas,  at  dinner  given  by 
Chinese  delegation  to  Peace  Con 
ference,  324 

Landman,  Rabbi  Isaac,  on  committee 
to  present  views  of  American  Jews 
on  Zionism  to  Peace  Conference, 
350 

Lane,  Franklin  K.,  donation  to  cam 
paign  fund,  242;  writes  Red  Cross 
proclamation,  251;  approves  cam 
paign  of  League  to  Enforce  Peace, 
300;  proposed  as  Director-General 
of  International  Red  Cross,  318; 
considered  for  head  of  corporation 
to  finance  Poland,  381 

Lansing,  Secretary  of  State,  at  Pad- 
erewski  dinner,  356;  -letter  of  in 
structions  to  Mission  to  Poland, 
359 

Lansing,  Mrs.,  at  signing  of  Peace 
Treaty,  336 

Lauzanne,  Stephane,  arranges  lunch 
eon  witkBunau  Varilla,  330 

Lawyers'  Mortgage  Company,  in 
crease  of  capital  stock,  70,  71 

Lawyers'  Title  Company,  increase  of 
capital  stock,  67-71 

League  to  Enforce  Peace,  work 
against  future  wars,  300;  travelling 
in  campaign  of,  301 ;  pronounce 
ment  on  the  League  of  Nations 
Covenant,  303 

Leisenring,  John,  26 

Leishmann,  John  G.  A.,  meeting  with 
at  Aix-les-Bains,  85 

Lens,  General  Currie's  description  of 
battle,  269;  why  Sir  Douglas  Haig 
refrained  from  capturing,  271 

Lenox,  James,  22 

Letoviski,  Major,  leader  of  Jewish 
massacre  at  Pinsk,  369 


448 


INDEX 


Lewin,  Rabbi,  on  Jewish  question  in 

Poland,  375 
Liberty  Loan,  and  United  War  Work 

Drives,  travelling  in  behalf  of,  295 
Lloyd,  Bishop   Arthur  Selden,  175 
Lodge,  Henry  Cabot,  signs  cable  to 

Wilson     appealing     for     help     for 

Armenia,  340 

Loeb,  Solomon,  realty  ventures,  42 
Loewi,  Valentine,  30 
Lord,  Dr.  Robert,  at  Peace  Confer 
ence,  324 
Low,  Sydney,  met  on  British  front, 

267 
Lowell,    President    in    campaign    of 

League  to  Enforce  Peace,  301;  in 

a  foot  race  with,  302 

Macauley,  Captain,  of  the  Scorpion, 
219 

Machpelah,  Caves  of,  visit  to,  213, 
217 

Mackay,  Clarence  H.,  on  Board  of 
Directors  Metropolitan  Opera 
Company,  100 

Mackaye,  Dr.,   175 

Macy,  R.  H.,  &  Co.,  business  secured 
by  Isidor  Straus  and  his  sons,  36 

Mahmoud  Tahgri  Bey,  acting  Gov 
ernor  of  Alexandria,  219 

Mahmoud  Tewfik  Hamid,  232 

Mahmoud  Pasha,  189 

Malcolm,  Ian,  speech  at  dinner  to 
Governors  of  the  League  of  the 
Red  Cross  Societies,  320 

Mallet,  Sir  Louis,  British  Ambas 
sador  at  Constantinople,  183;  re 
newal  of  acquaintance  with,  336 

Malone,  Dudley  Field,  at  conference 
over  Wilson's  "cocked-hat"  letter, 
140;  brings  message  from  Wilson 
on  McCombs-Newton  rupture,  145 

Mannes,  David,  106 

Mannheim,  early  life  in,  1,  333 

Manning,  Dan,  118 

Mardighian,  Osman,  187 

Marie,  Princess,  at  dinner  with,  326 

Marling,  Alfred  E.,  175 

Marsh,  Benjamin  C.,  Secretary  Com 
mittee  on  Congestion  of  Population 
in  New  York  City,  107 

Marshall,  T.  R.,  at  Jackson  Day 
Dinner,  142 

Marshall,  Louis,  at  Sulzer  dinner, 
168;  objects  to  Jew  serving  on 
Commission  to  investigate  Polish 
pogroms,  353 

Martin,  Riccardo,  sings  at  Conried's 
funeral,  104 

Meyer,  Peter  F.,  48;  connection  with 
Richard  Croker,  113 


Metaxa,  Dr.,  arranges  meeting  with 
Venizelos,  328 

Metropolitan  Opera  Company,  formed 
for  Conried,  100 

Metropolitan  Opera  House,  gather 
ing  on  President  Wilson's  return 
from  Paris,  304 

Miller,  Cyrus  C.,  elected  Borough 
President  of  the  Bronx,  118 

Mitchel,  John  Purroy,  irj  the  Post- 
mastership  controversy,  237;  cam 
paign  for  preparedness  irritating 
to  President  Wilson»  2385  at  War 
Publicity  meeting,  252;  has  good 
business  offer  but  decides  to  re 
main  in  politics,  279;  asks  advice 
on  Mayoralty  campaign,  278; 
elected  Mayor  of  City  of  New 
York,  283;  asks  advice  as  to  run 
ning  again,  283;  his  death  in  his 
country's  service,  286 

MacDowell,  Miss,  in  Settlement  work, 
105 

MacNulty,  Mr.,  35 

McAdoo,  William  G.,  in  Wilson's 
campaign,  137;  drops  his  business 
to  aid  Wilson's  candidacy,  154;  ap 
pointed  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
159;  apprehensive  of  outcome  of 
1916  campaign,  235;  dejection  at 
unfavourable  election  returns,  246 

McAneny,  George  A.,  considered  for 
Mayor  on  fusion  ticket,  280;  not  a 
vote-getter,  281 

McCall,  Mr.,  power  in  finance,  78 

McCombs,  William  F.,  in  charge  of 
Wilson  campaign,  137,  139;  con 
troversy  with  Byron  Newton,  145 

McCormick,  Chancellor,  on  Palestine 
trip,  215 

McCormick,  Vance,  bosses  object  to, 
121;  named  Chairman  of  Demo 
cratic  Campaign  Committee,  241; 
dinner  to  Henry  Ford,  Thos.  A. 
Edison,  and  Josephus  Daniels,  242; 
on  committee  for  financing  the  Red 
Cross,  249 

McCurdy,  Richard  A.,  incensed  at 
not  being  asked  to  participate  in 
capital  increase  of  Lawyers'  Title 
Company,  69;  power  in  finance,  78; 
misuse  of  insurance  funds,  83 

McCurdy,  R.  H.,  on  Board  of  Direc 
tors  of  Metropolitan  Opera  Com 
pany,  100 

Mclntire,  Alfred,  19,  30 

Mclntyre,  William  H.,  on  Board  of 
Directors  Metropolitan  Opera 
Company,  101 

McMahon,  Daniel  F.,  116 

Mohammed  V,  a  weakling,  184» 


INDEX 


449 


Moncheur,  Baroness,  188 

Montefiore,  Claude,  representing 
Jews  of  France  at  Peace  Con 
ference,  350 

Moore,  Judge,  121,  122 

Moore,  Mrs.  Philip  North,  in  cam 
paign  of  League  to  Enforce  Peace, 
301 

Morgan,  J.  Pierpont,  his  power  in 
finance,  76 

Morgan,  Miss  Anne,  member  "Com 
mittee  of  Safety",  107 

Morgenthau,  Henry,  Jr.,  at  Sea 
Girt,  148 

Morgenthau,  Mrs.,  arrival  in  Turkey, 
194 

Morgenthau  Company,  Henry,  forma 
tion,  89 

Morton,  Levi  P.,  real  estate  transac 
tions  with,  48;  assists  at  auction 
sale,  49 

Mott,  John  R.,  conversation  with,  on 
after-the-war  work,  316 

Mt.  Sinai  Hospital,  on  Board  of  Di 
rectors,  105 

Munsey,  Frank,  at  War  Publicity 
meeting,  253 

Murphy,  Arthur  D.,  defeated  for 
Borough  President  of  Bronx,  116 

Murphy,  Charles  F.,  selected  by 
Croker  to  head  Tammany,  116 

Murphy,  Major,  with  Red  Cross  in 
France,  86 

Nabulus,  Governor  of,  arranges  an 
Arabian  night,  231 

Nahoun,  Chief  Rabbi,  205 

New  York,  arrival  in,  6,  7 

New  York  Sun,  comment  on  heading 
of  Red  Cross  Magazine  article,  289 

New  York  Times,  article  on  the  Jew 
ish  question,  289;  Washington  des 
patch  to,  293;  publishes  speech 
made  at  dinner  of  Executive  Com 
mittee  of  Wise  Centenary  Fund, 
294;  article,  "Emperor  William 
Must  Go,"  297;  article,  "A  Vision 
of  the  Red  Cross  After  the  War," 
308;  article  on  departure  as  dele 
gate  to  International  Red  Cross 
Conference,  308 

New  York  World,  article  showing 
Germany  planned  the  war,  296 

Newton,  Byron,  controversy  with 
McCombs,  145 

Nilsson,  Christine,  12 

Norton,  Chas.  D.,  on  Committee  for 
financing  the  Red  Cross,  249 

Norton,  Patrick,  excavation  con 
tractor,  51,  52 


Nugent,  difficulty  with,  over  tickets 
for  Jackson  Day  Dinner,  139 

O'Conor,  Charles,  29 

O'Gorman,  Senator  James  A?  at 
Jackson  Day  Dinner,  142;  friend 
ship  with,  154;  transmits  Wilson's 
offer  of  Ambassadorship  to  Tur 
key,  159;  fearful  of  Wilson's  re 
election  in  1916,  235 

O'Toole,  Morgan,  27 

Ochs,  Adolph  S.,  as  example  of  op 
portunity,  400 

Ogden,  D.  B.,  entertains  proposition 
to  increase  capital  of  Lawyers' 
Title  Company,  67 

Olcott,  Frederick  P.,  interested  in 
formation  of  real  estate  trust  com 
pany,  58;  a  power  in  finance,  65; 
aids  in  increasing  capital  of  Law 
yers'  Title  Company,  68 ;  in  rail 
road  reorganizations,  78 ;  questioned 
as  to  attitude  if  panic  should  ensue, 
88 

Ottendorfer,  Oswald,  realty  trans 
actions  with,  45 

Otto,  Major  Henry  S.,  with  Mission 
to  Poland,  355 

Outerb ridge,  E.  H.,  urges  acceptance 
of  nomination  for  President  of  the 
Borough  of  Manhattan,  278;  urges 
Mitchel's  reelection  at  City  Hall 
Park  mass  meeting,  284 

Paderewski,  asks  Wilson  to  appoint 
commission  to  investigate  treat 
ment  of  Jews  in  Poland,  352;  gives 
dinner  at  the  Ritz,  355;  efforts  to 
assure  people  he  was  not  Anti- 
Semitic,  377;  gives  state  dinner  to 
Hoover,  377;  impressions  of,  at 
dinner  to  Hoover,  379;  holds  up 
financing  of  Poland,  381 

Paderewska,  Mme.,  at  dinner  given 
to  Hoover,  378 

Page,  Thomas  Nelson,  meeting  with 
in  Paris,  255 

Page,  Walter  Hines,  introduced  by 
Woodrow  Wilson,  136 

PainlevS,  meeting  with,  85;  at  review 
of  first  American  troops  in  France, 
256;  dining  with,  257 

Palestine,  visit  to,  212;  prominent 
Jews  not  in  favour  of  Zionist  pro 
ject  of  National  home,  349;  true 
meaning  of  Balfour  Declaration, 
389;  significance  of  Sir  Herbert 
Samuel's  appointment,  392;  not 
suitable  for  colonization,  393 

Pallavicini,  Marquis,  Austrian  Am 
bassador  at  Constantinople,  182 


450 


INDEX 


Panic  of  1873,  20 

Parish,  Henry,  realty  dealings  with, 
55 

Park,  Trenor  W.,  53 

Parker,  Judge  Alton  B.,  at  Jackson 
Day  Dinner,  142;  of  counsel  at 
Sulzer  impeachment,  172 

"Parsifal,"  difficulties  encountered  in 
production,  102 

Parsons,  John  E.,  realty  ventures,  42 

Patri,  Angelo,  106 

Patrick,  Dr.  Mary  Mills,  president 
Constantinople  College  for  Girls, 
204,  207 

Patrick,  Mason  M.,  considered  for 
Mission  to  Poland,  355 

Peabody,  Charles  A.,  realty  dealings 
through,  55 

Peace  Conference,  impressions  of,  322 

Peace  Treaty,  signing  of,  336 

Pears,  Sir  Edwin,  188 

Peet,  Dr.  W.  W.,  work  in  Constan 
tinople,  205;  missionary  activities, 
211;  gives  information  on  Palestine, 
213;  invited  to  accompany  party, 
214;  at  Arabian  night,  231 

Penrose,  Senator,  assumes  leadership 
of  Republican  machine,  125;  will 
ing  to  wreck  party's  chances  to  in 
jure  Roosevelt,  150 

Perlmutter,  Rabbi,  calls  on  Mission 
at  Warsaw,  361 

Perkins,  George  W.,  member  "Com 
mittee  of  Safety,"  107;  at  War 
Publicity  meeting,  253 

Perkins,  Major,  with  Red  Cross  in 
France,  86 

Perkins,  Miss  Frances,  member 
"Committee  of  Safety,"  107 

Persian  delegation  to  Peace  Confer 
ence,  their  hopeless  position,  325 

Pershing,  General,  meeting  with  in 
Paris,  255;  lauded  by  Joffre,  264; 
letter  from,  explaining  postpone 
ment  of  dinner,  264;  his  descrip 
tion  of  battle  of  Verdun,  265; 
meeting  with  at  headquarters  in 
France,  273;  at  signing  of  Peace 
Treaty,  336;  selects  military  mem 
ber  of  Mission  to  Poland,  354 

Phillip,  Hoffman,  Conseiller  and 
First  Secretary,  American  Em 
bassy,  Constantinople,  177,  187 

Philipson,  Rev.  Dr.  David,  not  in 
favour  of  Zionist  plans,  349 

Phillips,  L.  J.,  48 

Phoenix  Insurance  Co.,  position  with, 
18 

Pilsudski,  Dictator  of  Poland,  115; 
not  in  favour  of  Mission  to  Poland, 
360;  at  reception  in  Warsaw,  364  j 


"no  pogroms,  nothing  but  unavoid 
able  accidents,"  371 ;  talks  with  on 
Jewish  question,  372,  375;  change 
of  attitude  toward  Commission, 
378;  his  story  of  his  rise  to  power, 
378 

Pinchot,  Amos,  member  "Committee 
of  Safety,"  107 

Pinsk,  investigations  in,  369 

Platt,  Frank,  retained  by  Alexander 
in  Equitable  Insurance  contest,  80, 
81 

Plaza  Hotel,  purchase  of,  87 

Plumb,  Preston,  26 

Poincare1,  President,  at  review  of 
first  American  troops  in  France, 
256;  at  signing  of  Peace  Treaty, 
336 

Poland,  atrocities  against  the  Jews, 
351 ;  question  of  Jewish  nationalism 
in,  351 ;  plan  to  finance,  380 

Poland,  Mission  to,  formation  of, 
352;  ideal  to  be  accomplished,  358; 
Lansing's  letter  of  instructions, 
359;  arrival  in  Warsaw,  360 

Politics,  first  entry  into,  111 

Politis,  M.,  arranges  meeting  with 
Venizelos,  328 

Polk,  Frank  L.,  doubt  of  success  of 
1916  campaign,  235 

Pomerene,  Atlee,  at  Jackson  Day 
Dinner,  142 

Ponydreguin,  General,  dinner  with  at 
Gondrecourt,  259 

Post,  James  H.,  aids  in  formation  of 
real  estate  trust  company,  58 

Postmastership  at  New  York,  con 
tention  regarding,  237 

Power,  Judge  Maurice  J.,  "dis 
coverer"  of  Grover  Cleveland,  118 

Prendergast,  William  A.,  at  War 
Publicity  meeting,  253;  slated  for 
Comptroller  on  fusion  ticket,  280 

Pryor,  Gen.  Roger  A.,  29,  30 

Pyne,  Percy  R.,  retires  from  presi 
dency  of  National  City  Bank,  76 

Quekemeyer,  Captain,  American  rep 
resentative  on  trip  to  French  front, 
266 

Radcliffe,  General,  met  on  British 
front,  269 

Rappard,  Dr.,  William,  speech  at 
dinner  to  Governors  of  the  League 
of  the  Red  Cross  Societies,  321 

Raymond,  Henry  T.,  15 

Reading,  Lord,  address  before  Mer 
chants'  Association  in  New  York, 
298 

Real  Estate,  ventures  in,  39 


INDEX 


451 


Red  Cross,  financing  the,  insisting 
on  aiming  for  large  sum,  249; 
article  "A  Vision  of  the  Red  Cross 
After  the  War,"  308;  the  Interna 
tional  Conference,  308 

Red  Cross  Magazine  article  on  Turk 
ish  massacres,  288 

Redfield,  Congressman,  appointed 
Secretary  of  Commerce,  154,  159 

Reilly,  John,  buys  lots  on  route  of 
Subway,  50 

Rice,  Charles  D.,  !Ki 

Richardson,  Captain,  'Forty-niner,  4 

Robert  College,  Constantinople,  186, 
204,  208 

Rockefeller,  William,  how  he  obtained 
stock  of  Northern  Pacific,  71 

Rockefeller,  Mrs.  John  D.,  Jr.,  ac 
tivities  in  war  work,  299 

Rosalsky,  Judge  Otto,  at  Sulzer  din 
ner,  168 

Rosenwald,  Julius,  on  committee  for 
financing  the  Red  Cross,  250 

Roosevelt,  Franklin  D.,  doubt  of  suc 
cess  of  1916  campaign,  235 

Roosevelt,  Theodore,  deference  to 
Mark  Hanna,  123;  coaches  Taft  for 
campaign,  124;  split  in  Republican 
party  forfeits  election,  150;  Joffre 
anecdote  of,  264;  calls  meeting  of 
New  York  Progressives  to  agree 
on  fusion  slate,  280;  his  first  dem 
onstration  of  power,  282;  urges 
Mitchel's  reelection  at  City  Hall 
Park  mass  meeting,  284,  285 

Root,  Elihu,  associated  with  in  diffi 
culties  of  Hilton,  Hughes  &  Co., 
37;  policy  of  business  and  politics, 
87;  consulted  on  Equitable  con 
troversy,  82;  signs  cable  to  Wilson 
appealing  for  help  for  Armenia, 
340 

Rose,  William  R.,  54 

Roumania,  question  of  Jewish  nation 
alism  in,  351 

Roux,  Dr.  Emfle,  at  International 
Red  Cross  Conference,  315 

Rubenstein,  Rabbi,  recounts  history 
of  Vilna  excesses  against  Jews,  362 

Russell,  Colonel,  sails  for  Interna 
tional  Red  Cross  Conference,  310 

Russell,  Judge  Horace,  retained  by, 
36 

Ryan,  Thomas,  39 

Said    Halim,    Prince,    Grand   Vizier. 

221,  225 
Samaritans,    visit    to    the    tribe    on 

Mount  Gerizim,  228 


Samuel,  Sir  Herbert,  significance  of 
appointment  as  first  governing 
head  of  Palestine, 392 

Sassoon,  Sir  Philip,  private  secretary 
of  Sir  Douglas  Haig,  272 

Sayre,  Dr.,  on  Palestine  trip,  216 

Schiff,  Jacob  H.,  on  Board  of  Direc 
tors  Metropolitan  Opera  Company, 
100;  gives  evidence  against  Sulzer 
at  impeachment  trial,  173;  mis 
fortune  at  a  dinner,  299;  advises 
attendance  at  International  Red 
Cross  Conference,  308 

Schmavonian,  A.  K.,  attach^  at 
American  Embassy,  Constantinople, 
178,  187;  on  Palestine  trip,  215, 
231;  on  trip  to  French  front,  259; 
to  British  front,  266 

Schurz,  Carl,  on  Independent  politics, 
135 

Schwab,  Chas.  M.,  buys  stock  in 
Fuller  Construction  Co.,  72 

Sebastiyeh,  visit  to,  231 

Seligman,  Joseph,  refused  accommo 
dations  in  Saratoga  hotel,  38;  pres 
ident  Society  for  Ethical  Culture, 
95 

Senior,  Max,  not  in  favour  of  Zionist 
plans,  349 

Settlement  work,  in  Manhattan  and 
the  Bronx,  105 

Seymour,  Harriet,  106 

Shaffer,  Chauncey,  in  law  office  of,  24 

Sharp,  Ambassador,  at  review  of 
first  American  troops  in  France, 
256 

Shaw,  Peggy,  maintaining  soldiers' 
theatre  and  rest  room  at  Treves. 
333 

Shufro,  Jacob,  106 

Sibert,  General,  in  command  at  Gon- 
drecourt,  259 

Siegel-Cooper  &  Company,  opening  of 
New  York  Store,  54 

Sigerson,  Michael,  111 

Simon,  Robert  E.,  in  the  "Subway 
Boom,"  87;  partnership  with,  89 

Sinclair,  General,  met  on  British 
front,  269 

Singer  Sewing  Machine  Co.,  in  Con 
stantinople,  203 

Skrzynski,  M.,  at  reception  in  War 
saw,  365;  at  luncheon,  376 

Slocum,  Gen.  Henry  W.,  118 

Smith,  Alfred  E.,  chairman  of  fac 
tory  investigating  committee,  108; 
recommended  for  New  York  Post- 
mastership,  240 

Smith,  J.  Henry,  on  Board  of  Direc 
tors  Metropolitan  Opera  Company, 
101 


452 


INDEX 


Society  of  Ethical  Culture,  formation, 
95 

Southack,  Frederick,  aids  in  forming 
real  estate  trust  company,  57 

Southmayd,  Henry  M.,  attorney  for 
the  Astors,  45 

Spanish-American  War,  influence  of, 
on  real  estate  transactions,  54,  56 

Speer,  Mrs.  Emma  Bailey,  in  war 
work,  299 

St.  Patrick's  Cathedral,  construction 
of,  8 

Stanchfield,  John  B.,  of  Counsel  at 
Sulzer  impeachment,  172 

Standard  Oil  Co.,  in  Constantinople, 
203 

Stanislawa,  investigations  at,  367 

Stanley,  Sir  Arthur,  instrumental  in 
selection  of  Englishman  as  Direc 
tor-General  of  International  Red 
Cross,  319 

Stewart,  A.  T.,  &  Co.,  36 

Stillman,  James,  on  Executive  Com 
mittee  of  real  estate  trust  company, 
61;  a  power  in  finance,  65;  inter 
ested  in  increasing  capital  of 
Lawyers'  Title  Company,  68,  70; 
aids  in  financing  of  Fuller  Con 
struction  Co.,  71 ;  becomes  president 
of  National  City  Bank,  76;  attitude 
toward  Equitable  controversy,  81 ; 
offers  backing  in  case  of  panic,  88; 
wise  advice  of,  180 

Stimson,  Henry  L.,  Chairman  "Com 
mittee  of  Safety,"  108 

Stone,  Senator,  call  on  Wilson's  cam 
paign  managers,  143;  at  the  Sulzer 
dinner,  168 

Storrs,  Richard  S.,  15 

Stowell,  Edgar,  106 

Straight,  Willard  D.,  at  War  Pub 
licity  meeting,  253 

Straus,  Isidor,  incident  of  formation 
of  firm  Abraham  &  Straus,  34; 
secures  business  of  R.  H.  Macy  & 
Co.,  36 

Straus,  Nathan,  early  friendship  with, 
3;  dry  goods  business  of,  35,  36 

Strauss,  Charles,  transactions  with,  89 

Strong,  Colonel,  plans  for  Interna 
tional  Red  Cross  preferred  by 
Davison,  312,  315;  at  Cannes,  327 

Subway,  routes  being  laid  out  for,  47 

Sulzer,  William,  experiences  with, 
155;  inaugurated  Governor  of  New 
York,  162;  dinner  given  to,  163; 
beneficial  legislation  and  wise  ap 
pointments,  164;  defies  Tammany 
Hall,  167;  the  Cafe  Boulevard 
Dinner,  and  "the  wish-bone  speech," 


168;  impeached  and  removed  from 

office,  170 

Sykes,  Josephine,  99 
Syrian  Protestant  College,  visit  to,  233 

Taft,  William  H.,  coached  for  cam 
paign  by  Roosevelt,  124;  work  for 
League  to  Enforce  Peace,  301,  et 
seq;  speech  on  the  Covenant  at 
Metropolitan  Opera  House  gather 
ing,  305;  advises  attendance  at  In 
ternational  Red  Cross  Conference, 
308 

Talaat  Bey,  real  ruler  of  Turkey,  185, 
187,  191;  arranges  reception  at 
Adrianople,  192;  direct  dealings 
with,  19T;  asks  advice,  198;  looks 
to  comfort  of  party  on  Palestine 
trip,  231 

Talbot,  Dr.,  Fritz  B.,  sails  for  In 
ternational  Red  Cross  Conference, 
310 

Talmage,  T.  De  Witt,  15 

Tariff,  Protective,  a  blow  to  family 
fortunes,  4 

Taussig,  Professor,  at  dinner  given 
by  Chinese  delegation  to  Peace 
Conference,  324 

Thalman,  Ernest,  100 

Thann,  visit  to,  on  trip  to  the  front,  261 

Tibbetts,  Major,  met  on  British  front, 
268 

Tilden,  Samuel  J.,  effects  downfall 
of  Tweed  Ring,  111 

Tilton,  Henry,  30 

Tourtel,  H.  B.  met  on  British  front, 
267 

Townroe,  Captain,  conducts  trip  to 
British  front,  266 

Townsend,  Col.  C.  M.,  met,  after 
many  years  on  British  front,  267 

Tsulski,  Dr.,  conference  with,  on  con 
ditions  in  Poland,  358 

Tumulty,  Joseph,  at  conference  over 
Jefferson  Day  Dinner  tickets,  139; 
at  Sea  Girt  notification,  148 

Turkish  question,  study  of,  336 

Tweed  Ring,  contact  with,  109 

Underbill,  Senator,  at  Jackson  Day 
Dinner,  142 

Underwood,  John  T.,  transactions 
with,  90;  tenders  John  Purroy 
Mitchel  vice-presidency  of  his  com 
pany,  279 

Underwood,  Oscar,  candidacy  against 
Wilson,  138 

Underwood  Typewriter  Co.,  capitali 
zation  of,  90 

"Union  for  Higher  Life,"  member  of, 


INDEX 


453 


Van  Dyke,  Dr.  Henry,  in  campaign 
of  League  to  Enforce  Peace,  301 

Vanderbilt,  Alfred  G.,  on  Board  of 
Directors  Metropolitan  Opera  Com 
pany,  100 

Varilla,  Bunau,  at  luncheon  with,  330 

Vend&me,  Due  de,  acquaintance  with 
at  Peace  Conference,  326,  327 

Venddme,  Duchess  of,  met  at  Cannes, 
327 

Venizelos,  at  Peace  Conference,  328; 
discussion  with  on  Smyrna  ques 
tion,  329 

Vesnitz,  representing  Jugo-Slavia  at 
Peace  Conference,  327 

Vilna,  investigations  in,  370 

Vimy  Ridge,  visited  during  battle  of 
Lens,  271 

Viviani,  Ren€,  New  York  City's  re 
ception  to,  253 

Von  Moltke,  General,  at  launching 
of  Germany's  first  battleship,  24 

Webb,  Gen.  Alexander  S.,  12 

Whitall,  Dr.  Samuel  S.,  influence  of, 
15 

Wadsworth,  Eliot,  on  committee  for 
financing  the  Red  Cross,  249 

Wagner,  Robert  E.,  vice-chairman  of 
factory  investigation  committee, 
108;  recommended  for  New  York 
Postmastership,  240 

Wald,  Lillian  D.,  and  Henry  Street 
Settlement,  105;  introduces  Sidney 
Webb,  120 

Wallace,  Dr.  Louise  B.,  dean  of  Con 
stantinople  College  for  Girls,  204 

Wallace,  Hugh  C.,  friendship  with, 
154 

Wanamaker,  John,  succeeds  to  orig 
inal  business  of  A.  T.  Stewart  & 
Co.,  38 

Wangenheim,  Baron,  complains 
against  .American  ammunition,  24; 
German  Ambassador  at  Constan 
tinople,  182 

Washburn,  Dr.,  work  at  Robert  Col 
lege,  208 

Waterlow,  Lady,  met  at  Cannes,  327 

Watson,  Dr.  Charles  Roger,  175 

Webb,  Sidney,  interview  with  an 
American  political  "boss,"  120 

Weber,  M.,  patriot  of  Thann,  261 

Wechsler  &  Abraham,  incident  of 
dissolution  of  partnership,  34 

Weitz,  Dr.  Paul,  emissary  of  German 
and  Austrian  Ambassadors,  181 

Welch,  Dr.  William  H.,  sails  to  at 
tend  International  Red  Cross  Con 
ference,  310;  on  Council  of  Nation 
al  Defense,  311;  speech  at  dinner 


to  Governors  of  the  League  of  the 
Red  Cross  Societies,  321 

Wells,  Rollo,  friendship  with,  154 

Wertheim,  Jacob,  aids  in  financing 
Underwood  Typewriter  Co.,  92 

Wertheim,  Maurice,  92 

White,  George,  member  of  Demo 
cratic  National  Committee,  122 

White,  Henry,  arranges  meeting  with 
Venizelos,  329 

White,  Richard  Grant,  study  under, 
98 

Whiting,  Richard,  makes  flashlight 
photographs  of  Samaritan  cere 
monies,  228 

Whitman,  District  Attorney,  at  Sul- 
zer  dinner,  168;  slated  for  Mayor 
of  New  York  on  fusion  ticket,  280, 
281 

Whitney,  H.  P.,  on  Board  of  Direc 
tors  of  Metropolitan  Opera  Com 
pany,  100 

Whitney,  William  C.,  fight  against 
Kelly,  Tammany  leader,  112 

Willcox,  William  R.,  at  War  Pub 
licity  meeting,  252 

Williams,  Dr.  Talcott,  anecdote  of 
Woodrow  Wilson,.  307 

Williams,  John  Sharp,  signs  cable  to 
Wilson  appealing  for  help  for 
Armenia,  340 

Wilson,  George  Grafton,  in  campaign 
of  League  to  Enforce  Peace,  301 

Wilson,  Joseph,  devotion  to  his 
brother  Woodrow,  154 

Wilson,  President  Woodrow,  pre 
sented  with  typewriter,  93;  defies 
state  bosses,  122;  why  attracted  to, 
128,  129;  at  the  Free  Synagogue 
Dinner,  130;  taking  Borah's  meas 
ure,  130;  Presidential  candidacy, 
132;  the  hope  of  political  regener 
ation,  135;  introduces  Walter  Hines 
Page,  136;  explanation  of  the 
"cocked-hat"  letter,  140;  speech  at 
Jackson  Day  Dinner,  143;  com 
ment  on  Champ  Clark-Col.  Harvey 
episode,  149;  Campaign  of  1912, 
150;  asks  reconsideration  of  refusal 
to  accept  chairmanship  of  Finance 
Committee,  152;  elected  President, 
159;  asks  acceptance  of  Ambassa 
dorship  of  Turkey,  160;  instruc 
tions  on  leaving  to  assume  post  of 
Ambassador  to  Turkey,  175;  re 
election  in  1916,  not  thought  possi 
ble  by  party  leaders,  234;  atti 
tude  toward  New  York  Post- 
mastership  appointment,  238;  re- 
nominated  at  St.  Louis  Conven 
tion,  241;  election  night  returns 


454 


INDEX 


seem  to  show  defeat,  246;  election 
assured,  248;  report  to  on  trips  to 
battle  fronts,  274;  letter  advising 
exposure  of  German  intrigue,  297; 
at  Metropolitan  Opera  House 
gathering,  304;  attitude  toward 
Lane  as  Director-General  of  In 
ternational  Red  Cross,  318;  the 
hope  of  the  Peace  Conference,  323; 
at  signing  of  Peace  Treaty,  336; 
discuss  Polish  Mission  with,  and 
propose  Armenian  Mission  to,  338; 
cable  to  from  America  proposing 
this  Mission,  339;  appoints  com 
mission  to  investigate  treatment  of 
Jews  in  Poland,  352;  insists  on 
having  a  Jew  on  commission  to  in 
vestigate  Polish  pogroms,  354 

Wilson,  Mrs.  Woodrow,  claims  the 
President's  typewriter,  93;  at  sign 
ing  of  Peace  Treaty,  336 

Winthrop,  Henry  Rogers,  on  Board 
of  Directors  of  Metropolitan  Opera 
Company,  100 

Wise,  Dr.  Stephen  S.,  speaks  at  Con- 
ried's  funeral,  105;  urges  accep 
tance  of  Ambassadorship  to  Tur 
key,  162;  acquaints  President 
Wilson  with  his  plans  for  Zionism, 
293 

Wise    Centenary    Fund,    Isaac    M., 


speech  at  dinner  of  Executive  Com 
mittee,  294 

"Wish-bone  speech"  at  Sulzer  dinner, 
169 

Woerishoefer,  Carola,  107 

Wolff,  Lucien,  representing  Jews  of 
England  at  Peace  Conference,  350 

Woman's  activities  in  the  war,  299 

Women  in  Turkey,  their  position,  195 

Woodruff,  Lieutenant-Governor,  at 
Roosevelt's  fusion  meeting,  280 

Wood,  Sir  Henry,  188 

World,  New  York,  danger  of  defec 
tion,  owing  to  Postmastership  ap 
pointment,  238,  240 

Yeaman,  George  H.,  19,  30 
Young  Turks,  government  a  failure, 
196 

Zermoysky,  Countess,  at  reception  in 
Warsaw,  364 

Zionism,  article  in  New  York  Times, 
289;  a  fallacy  in  Poland,  383;  a 
surrender  not  a  solution,  385;  its 
economic  aspect,  393;  its  political 
foundations,  395;  a  spiritual  will- 
o'-the-wisp,  398 

Zionists,  their  Nationalistic  plans  not 
favoured,  349;  present  their  case  to 
Mission  at  Warsaw,  363 


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